Perchance to Dream
by TaikoHawk
Summary: Uchiha Itachi hadn't planned for this possibility, but then, if he'd had his way, he would be dead. How this had happened was a useless question. What mattered was, what would he do now? To be or not to be... It all hinged on his choices. Time travel.
1. To Die

_TaikoHawk:: Hello and welcome to my newest fic (as of June 15, 2010 that is). A **VERY IMPORTANT NOTE **before we begin. This fic is about Uchiha Itachi, set in the third-person limited view. That being so, there will be a lot of thinking and logic and all that good stuff, because _that is the way Itachi is_. Please don't complain of lack of action, or stuff like that. Itachi is not one to just jump in, fists flying. You must be confusing him with Naruto (though how you could do that, I've no idea...)_. _He will spend time thinking over his situation, what he can do, and then he'll make his decisions. This isn't to say there will be no action, because there most assuredly WILL BE. You just need to wait for it_.

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Disclaimer:: TaikoHawk does not own rights to Naruto or Naruto: Shippuden. She just likes to correct Kishimoto's mistakes... er... I mean... she just likes to play around with the characters.

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**Perchance to Dream

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**Chapter One—To Die

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Itachi sat on a fallen log at the side of a small river, listening with half an ear to the soft sounds of its waters and contemplating his current position. It was an interesting one, to be sure. Interesting and also curiously frustrating. He was not, after all, accustomed to having his will thwarted. Generally, he planned so far ahead, and so conscientiously, that in the end his desired outcome was achieved. He didn't leave things to chance or, if that was unavoidable, he planned for several contingencies. Never did he set his sights on one path; one never knew exactly what might happen, so it was wise to make sure to have several different choices that would all give the desired results. Always plan for detours.

But _this_ detour…

Itachi had to admit, he never imagined he would be displaced so far. If things had gone according to plan, he would be dead now, his little brother having finally achieved vengeance. But instead…

Itachi's eyes lowered to the surface of the river, picking out the distorted reflection of his face among the ripples of flowing water. Rounder than he remembered from his last encounter with a reflective surface. And because of the roundness, the dark lines under his eyes were far less prominent than they had been. It was the face of a child.

Well, that made sense, since he _was _a child. Again.

Interesting and curiously frustrating.

It had been a shock to wake up after expecting to be dead—a shock magnified by the fact that he had woken up almost eleven years _before _closing his eyes that should-have-been-last time. His finely honed shinobi instincts and discipline had nearly been overwhelmed, truth to tell. In his drive to mold Sasuke into the tool of justice and vengeance, Itachi had never taken the time to consider might-have-beens. He'd never allowed himself to indulge in thoughts of what he might say, were he to have the chance to face his family again. So when the opportunity came unexpected, he was caught flatfooted. That, also, was a shock. Uchiha Itachi was always ready, never caught off-guard. Except when he was, apparently.

It had been hard to figure out how to act around his mother again. How had he spoken to her? How had he reacted to her replies? What did he say and what did he not say? It was hard not to stare at her, drinking in the familiar lines of her face. It was hard not to prostrate himself at her feet, begging forgiveness.

It had also been hard to rein in his reaction to his father. In some ways, Itachi still blamed his father, had never forgiven him. It had been Fugaku, and the Uchiha Elders, who had made the decision to step onto the path that had led to their destruction. The destruction that Itachi had had to shoulder. On some levels, Itachi blamed his father for what had happened, even though it had been Danzo and the Council who had given the order to kill the Clan, and his own hands that had done the deed.

Seeing them, being with them, it was difficult. Itachi felt the drain it exerted on his psyche acutely, and knew he wouldn't be able to properly analyze his situation as long as he was surrounded by the distracting influence that was his childhood home. As long as he was within the bounds of the Uchiha Compound, his mental capacity would be compromised. Which was why he was sitting, alone, in this secluded grotto in one of the forested parks of Konoha.

As long as he marshaled his thoughts and kept them on the task at hand, rather than dwelling on this sudden, unexpected, _painful_, restoration of his home and his family, he might be able to figure out what was going on.

So far, as he saw it, there were three possibilities.

First. This was a _genjutsu_. Point: it was intricately detailed. Explanation: it was a high-leveled _genjutsu_, of the type that was connected and fed by his memories and what his subconscious mind believed he should be seeing. Refute: he had learned to see through such illusions at the age of 8. As well, with his fully-developed Sharingan, it was essentially impossible to trap him in any level of _genjutsu_. Conclusion: this option was exceedingly improbable.

Second. All of what had happened previously to this moment had been either dream or itself a _genjutsu. _Point: Itachi had never heard of a _genjutsu _that had lasted for years. Explanation: it wasn't necessary for it to, actually. Didn't his Tsukuyomi compress days' worth of experience into mere seconds? So perhaps what he remembered—killing his clan, joining Akatsuki, fighting his brother in that final battle—weren't true memories. Refute: there was no logical purpose he could see to showing him such an illusion. Why give him false memories of the Uchiha betrayal, the massacre, and his descent to _nukenin_ status? As a warning of what may happen? As a distraction, to keep him occupied while enemies did as they would? But there had been no attacks, no enemies doing anything. Everything was as Itachi remembered it should be, in this time. Conclusion: The idea of his memories being the _genjutsu _was illogical. Point: the option includes the possibility of what he remembered being a dream. Refute: Even though his normal vision was now restored to him, Itachi still had his Mangekyo Sharingan, and that was not something he had had as an eleven year old the first time around. Nor was it something he could spontaneously get from a dream. Conclusion: this was also highly improbable.

Third. This was a machination of Uchiha Madara. Point: Madara had some control over space and time through his Mangekyo Sharingan. It was possible that Itachi was here, in the past, because of Madara's ability. Refute: the question from the previous option came back—"For what purpose?" Why would Madara, who had not trusted Itachi and was, in fact, wary of the younger Uchiha, bring him into the past where Itachi could use his knowledge of the future to thwart Madara's plans? Itachi could see Madara coming back himself to correct his mistakes, or make better decisions. There were so many little things that Madara could have done differently that would have increased his successes, made his plan more solid. Turn left here instead of right. Use this jutsu rather than that one. Kill this man instead of ignoring him. Madara _would_ come back, if he thought it could benefit him. But why bring Itachi with him? There was nothing to gain from that. In truth, it was a danger to Madara and his plan. The man was crazy, not stupid. No, if Itachi was here, it was because Madara hadn't intended him to be.

That actually made a certain kind of sense. The last thing Itachi remembered was lying near death after his fight with Sasuke. Perhaps Madara hadn't realized Itachi was still alive (though admittedly barely) when he'd activated his Mangekyo. Perhaps Itachi had been an unintentional hanger-on.

But that brought up more questions. Questions like: Had Madara activated his Mangekyo so close to Itachi that it had affected him as well? And if so, why had Madara done it so close? And why had Itachi awoken in his old room, in his old home, in his eleven-year-old body? He wasn't by any means an expert on Madara's Mangekyo, but he was fairly certain that it didn't work like that. Traveling had never caused Madara's age to change; it was how he had stayed alive so long. Besides, thinking about it logically, if you became the age you were supposed to be each time you time-skipped, then if you skipped ahead, say, two hundred years, you'd be the impossible age of two-hundred-some. You'd likely die instantly upon arrival. But Madara was jumping liberally through time and aging at a normal pace.

Conclusion: Option three was currently the most likely.

That meant…

Itachi's breath caught. He hadn't allowed himself to think that when he'd first woken—there had been the very real possibility that what he was experiencing wasn't real, but after analyzing things, after discarding those ideas… Believing that option three was the most likely explanation for his situation meant that he was going to relive his childhood, starting now. Starting at age eleven. Starting with his Clan still alive, his family still with him. Starting before the Clan had committed completely to its plan of military coup.

_He could change things._

The possibility took his breath away, robbed him of his famed composure. Here was opportunity. Here was redemption. A second chance at his own mistakes and decisions. His hands where they rested on his perch tensed, crumbling half-rotten bark away from the fallen log. He lifted his hands away, holding them in front of his face and observing how they trembled.

He could try again. He could, perhaps, change the fate of his Clan, of his brother. He could change his own fate. He could better protect Konoha.

But the opening was so vast, the opportunities numerous. Where could he begin?

No, he was getting ahead of himself. First, take stock of all assets.

_:I am Uchiha Itachi, eleven-year-old Jounin of Hidden Leaf. I contain the knowledge of my _nukenin _twenty-two-year-old self. I possess the Mangekyo Sharingan. I possess the knowledge of what may happen in the future. I possess knowledge of many of the enemies Konoha might face in the coming years.: _He paused. _:Perhaps, if I explain myself, I could acquire an ally in the Sandaime Hokage. At this point, I was not so completely intertwined in the politics of the village, and he is not relying on me yet to spy on the Clan. But he trusted me before, and perhaps will again…:_

Itachi tensed suddenly, breaking off as he sensed a chakra signature moving toward him. He stilled completely as he realized who exactly it was. He blinked and visibly tried to compose himself. What could you say to a friend you had killed, once upon a time? How did you face them?

Itachi stared at the river in front of him and tried to come to terms with the fact that he was about to come face-to-face with his best—perhaps only—friend, whom he had murdered, in his other past.

"_Here _you are," Uchiha Shisui's voice, exasperated and good-humored, announced his arrival. "Mikoto-obasan asked me to come find you."

Though somewhat more distantly related, Shisui was accepted enough by the Head family to address Itachi's mother as 'aunt.' And, apparently, accepted enough to be sent out to fetch her errant son home. Itachi swallowed, finding himself unable to turn to face his friend. He stared at the river.

What to do? How to act? This was more than a person should have to deal with.

_:Breathe,: _he reminded himself, _:You are eleven. Shisui is your friend, your Clan is alive. This is where you are.:_

With an effort, Itachi settled. A part of him was appalled at his wildly fluctuating emotions, and his inability to master them, to keep them from affecting him. But another part was saying 'after fully expecting to die, you woke up eleven years old again, with everything you had lost restored to you. Of course you are going to be off-balance.'

Then there was the tiny voice at the back of his mind, which was chanting softly the mantra: 'You could change things. You could change things.' He sank himself, for the time being, into the promise of those words.

"Shisui…" Itachi said, presently. Just like it had been when he'd first woken, it was a shock to hear his own voice so high and young.

"Itachi," Shisui mimicked. He walked over to stand at Itachi's shoulder. "What are you doing here? Thinking?"

Itachi tilted his head slightly, a vague agreement. It was a common thing for Shisui to find Itachi quietly sequestered somewhere in Konoha, thinking over one subject or another.

"Well, what was it this time? The emptiness of existence? The purpose of suffering?" Shisui moved to stand in front of Itachi, propping a fist on a hip and smirking. Itachi masterfully controlled his reaction to seeing his friend_(almost brother)_'s living face, and glanced up seemingly casually.

"Not quite," he said, perhaps a little dryly. He stood, dusting off his back. "My mother needs me to come home?"

"Well," Shisui admitted, "she was the one who sent me, but she said it was because your father wished to speak to you."

Itachi didn't let his sudden tension show in the face or body. Talks with his father had never been particularly enjoyable.

"I see," he replied blankly. Shisui slung an arm over the shorter boy's shoulders and started walking him back in the direction of the Uchiha Compound.

"Ah, you sound so enthused, Itachi-kun!" he said, too cheerfully.

"Father cannot possibly have anything to say that I do not already know," Itachi said. It was funny, because it wasn't true because he had lived this already. It was true because he knew his father so well that he could predict everything the man would say in any given situation.

"Bow to filial piety, and accept your lecture," Shisui laughed. Itachi grimaced mentally.

* * *

The lecture he received from his father was one of the ones Itachi had received so many times he had it memorized pretty much word for word. "I am proud of what you have accomplished at such a young age, truly you are my son, _etc. etc. _You bring honor to the Clan; you must work harder to raise the Uchiha name further, _and so on_." Itachi sat formally, not moving a muscle until his father finished, at which point Itachi bowed and murmured some vague statement that said nothing at all. Without really hearing anything his son said, Fugaku nodded and dismissed Itachi.

The Uchiha heir was just stepping out on the long, traditional porch that wrapped around the house when he heard the rapid clatter of his brother's entrance. Sasuke was home from the Academy.

"Onii-san!" came Sasuke's childish cry, and the six-year-old hurtled out of the house, looking for Itachi. Their father, stepping out of the room where he'd been lecturing Itachi, frowned at his younger son.

"Sasuke. It is not becoming of one of the Uchiha Clan to run and shout in such a wild manner," he admonished. Itachi watched his brother's face fall at the reprimand.

"Sasuke, come here," he said, and was pleased when Sasuke's expression brightened and he walked quickly around their father to Itachi. Once he was close enough, Itachi automatically reached out and poked Sasuke in the forehead with two fingers. He felt his heart constrict at the painfully familiar gesture, and at Sasuke's painfully familiar response.

"Ouch! Onii-san!" Indignantly rubbing his forehead, Sasuke scowled up at his brother.

"Did you have something you wished to tell me, Otouto?"

The question evaporated all negativity from Sasuke's bearing, and the boy beamed up at Itachi: "We learned how to throw shuriken and kunai today, and Sensei said I did well because I already knew how!"

"You remembered from our practices?" Itachi asked as he surreptitiously herded Sasuke away from Fugaku.

"Yep!" Sasuke nodded. "Sensei let me practice on my own while he taught the others."

"No one else knew how?"

"Well," Sasuke made a face. "Some of them did, from other Clans. But I was the best."

"That's good, Sasuke," Itachi said. It hurt, somewhat, to have this relationship with his little brother back again. He hoped, prayed to whoever might listen, that he wouldn't have to shatter Sasuke like he'd been forced to in the other-past. "And how well did you do on your own?"

Sasuke grimaced. Clearly that was a question he had hoped no one would ask. Evasively, the six-year-old replied: "I did okay…"

Itachi regarded his brother with amusement. "Would you like to show me what you remember?"

Sasuke's eyes went big and his face lit up. It was rare to have his big brother offer to spend time with him; usually the older Uchiha was too busy with other things. "Yeah!"

"We won't have much time; supper will be ready soon," Itachi warned. He could hear and smell the evidence of cooking coming from the kitchen.

"Okay! I'll go get my kunai!"

Sasuke scurried off, apparently already forgetting his father's admonishment about running. Itachi smiled.

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Supper was its usual affair, strained sporadic conversation overlaying the general low-level tension caused by family members who held different world-views. As he had anticipated he would, Itachi came to the conclusion that one of the main stumbling blocks for his plan would be his father. Too caught up in the fallacy of Uchiha Supremacy and the promise of increased glory, he wouldn't take kindly to Itachi's trying to keep the Clan where they were, standing-wise. But Itachi wouldn't let that stop him. He _would _keep his Clan alive, and loyal to Konoha. The alternative didn't bear thinking about.

He would begin to implement his plan after supper; time was short, he had only a few short years before things would—if left untended—come to the point at which eradication of the Uchiha Clan became reality once again. Itachi also did not know when, or if, Madara would appear again. Itachi would have to act quickly…

He glanced casually at his mother, who was sitting deceptively demurely, eating small bites of rice with graceful movements. Itachi could see formal training in her motions, in the way she interacted with her surroundings. He could also sense the organized strength of her chakra. His mother had once been a kunoichi. Even though she had never admitted it, the evidence was there. And Itachi suspected she had had considerable skill. If he could get her to see his view, she would be a valuable ally.

Itachi thought that she would be receptive to what he had to say to her. Back… Back in the other-past, before he'd struck her down she had looked up at him and, meeting his eyes with her own tearful ones, said with quiet anguish: "I failed you as your mother. Forgive me."

Uchiha Mikoto placed a bite of fish in her mouth, chewing apparently serenely, but Itachi could see the shadow of grief and regret at the back of her eyes.


	2. The Name of Action

_TH: First of all, I want to say thanks to my 4 reviewers. Much appreciated. In response to a question raised_ by cherryjubilee: _sadly, this fic will not have any pairings, really. All the characters will be a little too young for that, and much too busy with other things...  
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_In case anyone was wondering, yes the title comes from Hamlet's monologue in Shakespeare's play. In addition, all of the chapter titles are phrases from it. I thought the monologue really fit with Itachi's situation in his fic. To live, to die... And perhaps all of this is just the dream that came to him in his sleep of death...  
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_Anyway, since I have a fair few chapters of this written already, and it's Friday, sunny, and I'm just so happy to see green outside my window, I decided to update early. Please read and review!_

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**Perchance to Dream**

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**Chapter Two—The Name of Action

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After they had finished eating, the men of the Head Family left the table, leaving Mikoto to take care of the dishes. She gathered them up wordlessly, carrying them to the kitchen to be washed. A small sound made her turn toward the door of the dining area. She blinked to see her oldest son standing there, his dark eyes level on her.

"Itachi-kun… is there something you need?" she asked quietly. He took a couple steps closer, and reached out to take a plate from the stack of dishes she held.

"I will help you," he said just as quietly.

"Oh no, that's not…" Mikoto stopped as Itachi turned and went into the kitchen. She followed, unable to do much else.

Itachi placed the plate he carried into the sink, and started the water running. He heard his mother come up behind him. He turned to take the rest of the dishes from her. She relinquished them, but said: "You do not have to do this. I am sure you have other matters to take care of."

Itachi washed one plate in silence, wiping it meticulously clean before placing it aside in a rack to dry. He replied as if no time had elapsed: "Father is in his study. He can't hear us speak here."

He felt his mother tense beside him before she said, carefully without inflection: "Do you have something to say that he should not hear?"

Itachi turned to pin her with a look. "Okaa-san. You are unhappy with the way we, your sons, are being raised, are you not?"

The only indication of her surprise was the way her chakra contracted, as if coiling in preparation for attack. Then she sighed and relaxed. "Yes."

She reached over and started washing a bowl. "I knew you were intelligent, inherently skilled, even as a child. Even as a baby." She gave him a crooked smile. "Mother's intuition."

She sighed again, the smile dropping. "I was against your early graduation, and against your rapid advancement in the ninja ranks. I believed we would ruin you, forcing you forward, forward, ever forward. But I… have no power, not over the Clan's decisions."

"Did you try?" Itachi asked softly, using the tone of his voice to take most of the sting out of the question. It still drew blood, though, as his mother sucked in a sharp breath and her eyes reflected pain. Then she dropped her head.

"No," she whispered. "I didn't think I had a chance, so I didn't even try."

She lifted her face to his and said: "I failed you as your mother. Forgive me."

Itachi very nearly recoiled, feeling all his insides lurch at this unexpected reappearance of the words. He tamped down the reaction, though, and reached forward instead to touch his mother's wrist.

"Don't apologize," he said. "It may be too late for me in that regard, but you can still help Sasuke. The Clan is starting to take interest in him now as well. Sasuke is my otouto. I do not wish for him to have the childhood I had. I won't allow the Clan to break him."

Mikoto looked at him, her expression a complex of so many different emotions that it was hard to read.

"Thank you. Thank you." She took his hands and pressed her forehead to the backs of them. Releasing him, she added: "This time, I won't stand by."

Itachi nodded slightly. As he had expected. Although the demands and expectations of a woman as the wife of the Uchiha Clan Head had blunted Mikoto's will and spirit, they hadn't completely destroyed the sharp edges she had as a trained kunoichi.

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Retiring to his room, Itachi changed into a light sleeping yukata and spread out his futon. Sitting with his legs folded beneath him on the cushion, he reviewed his situation.

He would still need to watch over and lead his mother's actions, at least for now, until she realized the power she had. But in that quarter, he had support. Knowing that her eldest son would back her in protecting Sasuke, Mikoto wouldn't be silently passive any longer.

That being said, he would still need to secure more allies for his plan to even have a hope of succeeding.

He expected to be able to get the Sandaime on his side; the Hokage was a wise man, if Itachi could explain the situation coherently, he was sure the Sandaime would afford him help.

Itachi also would prefer to get Shisui on his side, instead of having to fight or kill him again. He wasn't sure, though, if the Clan had gotten to the older Uchiha boy yet. If they had, then it would make things more difficult.

It was frustrating to not know when, or if, Madara would make an appearance. Itachi believed he would. Madara must have a reason for coming back now, when the Uchiha Clan was still alive. He knew that Madara had an obsession with returning the Clan to its former glory. Last time, Madara hadn't contacted the Clan before the Massacre. Perhaps this time, he wished to support the Clan, and lead them to victory in their coup?

Itachi exhaled in a controlled breath, long and slow. He would have to make an educated guess as to what would come of having the future Madara in this time, how the past he remembered might change from the changes both Madara and he himself introduced to it. And then he would have to prepare as best he could.

He unfolded himself and laid back on his futon. The sooner he began, the better chance he had. Tomorrow, he'd go for an audience with the Sandaime.

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Walking through the Village was a study in self-control. Living as a _nukenin _for approximately half his life had instilled in Itachi a certain level of paranoia, a level which rose dramatically as soon as he felt anyone with a chakra signature that suggested ninja-training in his vicinity. With Konoha being a Hidden Village, this meant that simply walking down the street put one in a position to encounter one ninja in every four persons.

It didn't help that he was, once more, the famous genius Uchiha heir. His exploits (he was accomplished even at eleven) and heritage ensured that there were at least a few gawkers in every crowd—people who would stare, surreptitiously or blatantly. The feel of eyes on his back made Itachi's mental hackles rise. Even more so since he knew that he had once been used to it. That he was having such trouble now meant that either he didn't have the control over his emotions as much as he thought he did, or that he had been so thoroughly changed by his past—future?—life that he literally could not wipe his ingrained habits from his psyche.

Either option left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Despite this all, Itachi made it without incident to the Hokage's Tower. Identifying himself to the Chuunin runner at the base of the Tower, Itachi settled himself against the wall (perfect positioned to be able to see in all directions, still have plenty of room to maneuver, and have a couple options for escape) to wait as the Chuunin trotted up to the Hokage's office to relay his request for an audience to the Sandaime.

It shouldn't be a problem. Itachi had timed his visit to correspond with the window of time he knew the Hokage generally had free. It was that magic time of midmorning at which the Hokage's schedule miraculously cleared. The Hokage would agree to see him.

Sure enough, the Chuunin runner came down again almost immediately and told Itachi the Hokage was available presently. Itachi nodded, and headed up. He reached the Hokage's office and rapped on the door politely, opening it after he heard the elderly man's voice call an acknowledgement.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was seated at his desk, clad in the traditional robes of his position. Itachi found that he was still mildly amused by the fact that Sarutobi was the only Hokage ever to wear the robes full-time, and yet they were still considered the 'traditional' costume. The only one who had come close had been the Yondaime, with his customized coat. The Shodai and Nidaime had had their armor, and the Godaime had simply worn her usual clothing.

Itachi moved to stand at attention directly before the desk. "Hokage-sama."

"Uchiha Itachi. You needed to speak with me?" asked the old man.

"Yes, sir. I would ask that you keep an open mind and not interrupt me until I am finished," Itachi replied formally. Sarutobi's eyebrows rose, and he took his pipe from his mouth.

"Alright, proceed," he said. Itachi bowed slightly, and paused, gathering his thoughts. He could feel the ANBU agents hanging hidden around the office, the Hokage's bodyguards, but their presence did not concern him, even though they would hear what he would say. They were sworn to secrecy, and besides, Itachi could identify by name each of the ANBU currently on duty, and he knew none were double agents for Danzo or Madara. He began.

"I am not Uchiha Itachi," the eleven-year-old started, and watched the Hokage's eyebrows lower as he tried to decipher what Itachi might mean by that. "Or at least, I am not the Itachi who should be here."

He settled himself into his reporting mode, speaking as coherently and without emotional bias as he could. "Uchiha Madara is alive, and he possesses the Mangekyo Sharingan, a level of Sharingan achieved only after killing one's closest friend. What's more, he has the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. This evolution comes after taking the Mangekyo eyes of another Sharingan wielder, and allows the possessor to escape the one downfall of the Mangekyo—gradual blindness. With the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, one may use the advanced power of the Mangekyo until death without losing any power of vision.

"Each Mangekyo Sharingan affords a different ability to its wielder. Madara's allows him to manipulate space and time. He can teleport. Between places. Between times. He has recently come to this time from a point approximately eleven years in the future." Itachi's eyes warned Sarutobi not to speak as the Hokage looked poised to comment. "Which brings me back to my first statement. I am the Uchiha Itachi from that time. I was brought back along with Madara himself, by, I believe, some miscalculation or error on Madara's part. While there are some resultant questions I have no satisfactory answers for, such as why I am once again in my eleven-year-old body, this explanation is the only one that bears up under scrutiny.

"Which brings me to the reason I am here telling you this. Whatever Madara plans to accomplish by coming back here, I am certain that it will constitute a threat to Konoha." Itachi stopped, and stood expectantly at attention before the Hokage's desk as Sarutobi thought over what he'd just outlined.

After a brief thoughtful silence—in which Itachi could practically hear the speculations of the Hokage and the ANBU, unspoken, but loud—the Hokage looked up, into Itachi's face. But Itachi noted that the man was careful not to meet his eyes—a wise action, though perhaps discouraging in the distrust implicit in it.

"Do you have evidence to back up what you've told me?"

Itachi inclined his head. "I'm willing to allow Ibiki-san to question me. Or Yamanaka Inoichi-san could find the truth of what I've said in my mind. Although… with all due respect, sir, I would advise you to assume the threat of Madara real until it is proven one way or the other."

Sarutobi stroked his beard once, and braced his thumb and forefinger on his chin as he considered. "That would work best if they were aware of the situation and the context of the interrogation."

"They may be trusted to be circumspect with that information."

"Hm. Yes." The Sandaime Hokage eyed Itachi. "Still, what you've just disclosed to me will be recorded and tagged S-rank Classified."

"But I will be allowed to inform others as I see fit," Itachi stipulated, firmly. The Hokage lifted one eyebrow at the officious tone of his voice. Itachi preempted any argument or comment with: "I have advanced knowledge of what the next several years may bring. I need some freedom of movement in this regard."

"If what you have said is indeed proven correct by Ibiki and Inoichi, then we may speak of such things," the Hokage said. That was acceptable, and Itachi said so.

Then he paused a moment, and slowly said: "There is… one other thing I have to say."

Itachi knew that if he had Ibiki and Inoichi digging around in his head, it would be best to up-front about some of the things they would unearth. Particularly this, as it could cripple him if they found the memory before he admitted to it. Not only that, but the Hokage should know. He should be warned of what the Uchiha had been capable of, what they might do again.

"In my time, I was a _nukenin_." As soon as the words left his mouth, Itachi felt everyone in the room freeze, muscles tightening, coiled to act or react. He himself held still, keeping his bearing and chakra nonthreatening. He continued: "It proved impossible for me to stay in Konoha after killing the Uchiha Clan on the orders of the Council."

He watched shock, disbelief, and confusion chase each other across Sarutobi's face. Then the Hokage said carefully: "The Council ordered you, in the future, to kill your Clan? All of your Clan?"

"Yes sir. The Uchiha Clan was planning a coup, and the Council determined the best solution was extermination." Itachi's voice was blank—the blank of someone who had strong emotions but was trying very hard not to feel them. Understanding washed the Hokage's face and he sighed.

"So there is some substance to the rumors…" he murmured.

"We need to prevent the coup," Itachi said. "I would prefer it happen in a different manner than that in my time. I could not kill my family again."

The Hokage flinched a little at the tone of his voice, and the words.

"Yes," Sarutobi agreed quietly. "I would prefer another method also."

The Hokage shook his head: "In any case. You will be questioned first by Ibiki and Inoichi."

Sarutobi pulled out a blank scroll and filled it rapidly with small swift writing. Rolling it up, he said: "Rooster!"

Between one blink and the next, an ANBU wearing a rooster mask appeared beside the Hokage's desk. The masked elite looked attentively at Sarutobi, apparently ignoring Itachi. But Itachi knew better to believe the appearance.

"Yes sir?" the ANBU said, voice slightly muffled and distorted by the porcelain mask of his occupation.

"Escort Uchiha-san here to Ibiki, if you would. Give Ibiki this," Sarutobi ordered, handing over the scroll to the ANBU. Then he turned toward Itachi. "We'll talk again."

Itachi bowed, straightfaced, and turned to follow Rooster out of the room and down to the bowels of the Tower. Below the Village, a system of tunnels connected the major buildings of Konoha, providing quick discrete routes to the Hokage's Tower, the hospital, ANBU headquarters, and the library. Ibiki and Inoichi's demesne was in the lowest levels of the ANBU headquarters.

Even though at eleven Itachi hadn't been in the headquarters yet, he had the benefit of a memory of being an ANBU Captain. He knew these corridors like the back of his hand, and was able to move confidently through them, following but not following Rooster. They came quickly to their destination. Rooster rapped on a door, opened it, and led the way in.

"Yes, what is it?" demanded the gruff voice of Morino Ibiki. Moving further into the room, Itachi saw the head of the Torture and Interrogation Force. He was cleaning a set of his tools. Inoichi didn't seem to be in, but that was hardly surprising; he didn't often hang about the interrogation rooms unless called in specifically. It was just Ibiki today. Rooster stepped up to the scarred man and handed over the scroll.

"From the Hokage."

Ibiki scanned it as Rooster turned and left. After some time, Ibiki looked to Itachi with a quirked eyebrow. "And I thought I'd seen everything. This is the first time anyone's volunteered to be at my tender mercies."

"I imagine the Hokage has included a few stipulations in his missive," Itachi said calmly, "such as the need to keep me alive and whole."

"Oh, la, he makes a joke," said Ibiki in fake light tone. Then his voice hardened. "Listen up. You've volunteered to be interrogated so you can prove the truth of this ridiculous story—" here he waved the scroll in the air "—to the Hokage. That means you've yielded all power. To _me_. And I will do what I must to determine the truth. That means that if I have to bring out the thumbscrews, I will, and the Hokage will not interfere."

Completely unconcerned, Itachi replied: "It isn't likely to come to that."

"Hn," Ibiki grunted his disbelief. "We'll start with the simple questions."


	3. Sea of Troubles

_TH: Thanks to my reviewers! And woohoo to GERMANY! Deutschland World Cup 2010! Also, pretty cool showing from the US, hope they do well, but Germany's my #1._

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**Perchance to Dream**

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**Chapter Three—Sea of Troubles

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The Hokage had trouble wrapping his head around what his shinobi were saying.

"You found no lie? Everything of what he said is true?"

"Yes sir. We took everything from his mind," Ibiki replied in a low rumble. Seated next to him, Inoichi groaned, rubbing his temples.  
"And we really mean _everything_," the blond man said. "We know everything from the face of his _nukenin _partner to Itachi's favorite word. Which, by the way, happens to be 'peace', which I find ironic. Most powerful ninja in his generation, hell, maybe in a couple generations, and the kid's a pacific. Er, well. Kid… adult in a kid's body… Shit, that's confusing."

The Hokage held up a hand to stop him, and Inoichi fell silent, swaying a bit in his chair. Using his ability, the Yamanaka _kekkei genkai _of mind reading, to its full extent (as was demanded in interrogation situations) made Inoichi slightly disoriented and opened him to the tendency to ramble. It seemed to be even worse this time, possibly because Itachi had been willing to undergo the jutsu and had allowed Inoichi to view his thoughts and memories freely. So freely in fact, that Inoichi had had trouble controlling the flow of sensation and information that had crashed into him.

But there was no mistaking it—the Uchiha heir had been telling the truth. He really _was _from the future. Had Inoichi been a little less dizzy and addled, he probably would have been as astounded and incredulous as the Hokage and Ibiki.

"Well…" Sarutobi said, sitting back in his chair, looking a little bit at a loss. He spread his hands. "I suppose the only question left is: What do we do now?"

"Oh, don't worry," Inoichi said, waving a hand airily. "Itachi-kun has a plan!"

Sarutobi and Ibiki considerately ignored the giddy blond.

"I want any record of this… revelation… to be coded and sealed above S-class. Nobody gets into it except myself and you, Ibiki."

"Yes, Hokage-sama," the head of the TI Force said.

* * *

Itachi waited patiently for the Hokage to finish consulting with the two TI Force shinobi, fully confident in his standing. He knew he told the truth, knew that the truth was all that Yamanaka Inoichi had found in his mind, knew that there was no reason that the Hokage wouldn't trust him. If Itachi was feeling anxiety, it could only stem from his knowledge that, although he might be given special freedom by the Hokage to act as he saw fit, there was a very short time in which he _could _act. It was a race, a race to be sure to _prevent_ instead of having to clean up.

Finally, the door to the Hokage's office opened and Itachi was summoned inside. The Uchiha heir stood and calmly paced through the door, to stand at attention a respectful distance from the Sandaime's desk. Ibiki and Inoichi were nearby, Ibiki pretending not to stare at Itachi, Inoichi looking from place to place with a bit of a distant look in his eyes. The Sandaime speared Itachi with an intent gaze.

"We are given no reason to doubt your words," Sarutobi said. "As this is the case, I have to ask you: What can you tell us about this possible threat Madara poses to us? And how can we head of the trouble brewing within the Uchiha Clan?"

A tendril of adrenaline snaked around Itachi's heart. More allies! An increase in the chance he had to change what would happen. So much hope… more hope than Itachi had ever had reason to feel in his life. He bowed quickly and shallowly to the Hokage in recognition of the consideration the man had given Itachi's admittedly hard-to-believe story.

"In the time I came from, Madara was the leader of an organization of S-class _nukenin_. They were called Akatsuki. One of their goals was to capture all the Bijuu; this, naturally, pitted them against Konoha. But more than that, Madara's other plans included the destruction of the village—he holds a grudge, and his is a temper that burns slow and lasting. He will do anything, wait any length of time, to get his revenge on Konoha," Itachi said. "Madara was using Akatsuki. He claimed to be doing all he was doing to create a world without strife, but that was a front, put into place so that he could get a Rinnegan-user on his side."

Sarutobi's eyes had widened at the mention of the Bijuu, but at the mention of the Rinnegan—a lengendary _doujutsu_ not many believed actually existed—he exclaimed aloud.

"The Rinnegan! Is that what we will be up against?"

Itachi thought quickly. It was a little less than two years before the Uchiha Massacre would happen… He responded slowly: "No… I do not think Madara has as yet gathered the Akatsuki. He will, soon, but that has not happened yet. And it is not the Rinnegan we should fear; the one who possesses the _doujutsu_ is… more of a pacifist than his actions would let on—he truly wants a world without strife. I believe it would be possible to talk him out of declaring war on us."

"Hm," Sarutobi said, unconvinced. Itachi shook his head a little.

"In any case," he said. "I have not answered your other question. I think I may have an ally in the Clan, in my mother. If I approach her about the coup, I think she might agree with me that it is foolish. She may help me persuade the Clan of the fact."

"What about your father?" Sarutobi asked. He was no fool, and Itachi wasn't unobservant. It was clear from Sarutobi's tone and expression that he already suspected the answer and was just asking to be sure. Itachi bowed his head.

"My father is one of the originators of the coup plan."

There was a moment of silence in the room, and then Sarutobi said: "You will be asked to act as a spy for the clan, won't you? There is no way they won't use you—not with the standing you have in clan and village."

"I am the pipe that connects the clan to the village," Itachi said, quoting something his father had told him—will tell him. "They do ask me to play a large part in the coup."

"What can we do to try to head off the conflict?" the Hokage wondered aloud.

"The Clan is bitter because of the distrust the village seems to have in them; they see the _Konoha Keimu Butai _as an attempt to keep the clan out of the governing of Konoha. They resent being relocated to the Complex, sequestered away from the rest of the village and kept under constant surveillance."

The Sandaime's face showed tension. Itachi knew the feeling—this was one reason why he hadn't been able to stop the Massacre from occurring the first time. How can you end bitter feelings that have been generations in the making?

"Will the village showing more faith in the clan help our cause any?" the Sandaime asked. Itachi considered.

"It may. But I would caution you to show faith in those Uchiha who are truly worthy of it—trusting the untrustworthy will put you and Konoha in more danger."

Sarutobi rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes focusing inward as he considered what act he might take to show trust in the Uchiha Clan. He admitted: "My first instinct is to involve you in this show of faith—you are the heir, the valued prodigy of the clan, and as such you are a very visible symbol of the clan. Trust in the clan is implicit in the action of trusting you. If I made you one of my bodyguards, you would have an excuse to remain in continuous contact with me, so no suspicion would arise from the frequent meetings we will have to have if we are going to work together on these problems. Also, it would keep you in the village, able to work on your Clan, instead of in the field and unable to see problems as they rise. However…"

Itachi waited. He had a couple 'however' statements running through his own head, but he wasn't going to interrupt the Hokage.

"However, making you my bodyguard could also be viewed in a negative light by some. It would take you off the roster for missions, which the Clan might view as trying to repress your name and abilities. Also, your unique skill-set isn't exactly the skill-set looked for in normal bodyguards. If I suddenly make such a change in appointing you to the position, people will wonder why I would need such a well-known powerhouse as my bodyguard. It would unnerve people."

Valid concerns, Itachi conceded. He thought for a moment. "One of the most definitive gestures of trust one can give is to trust another in the care of one's children. Choose suitable ninja from the clan and appoint them to teaching jobs, or give them Genin Teams."

"We do have more children entering the Academy now that we have peace with Iwa… and Kumo," said the Hokage. It was true—bring home the soldiers and the population increases. With peace, people are more able to pursue things like love and family. While the situation between Iwa and Konoha couldn't be called friendly by any stretch of the imagination, they weren't at war anymore. It was enough that they had general patrols watching the border; they didn't need their forces at the border en mass, so more ninja were home in the village and more children were being born and growing up to enter the Academy. They would need, if they didn't already, more teachers. Sarutobi glanced at Itachi: "What Uchiha would you suggest for this?"

"I… believe Shisui may be trusted with Genin Teams. Shiori and Akao may be also. As for possible Academy instructors…" a sudden thought struck Itachi and he continued slowly, surprised by the perfection of the idea, "you might consider broaching the subject personally with my mother. Now that Sasuke is out of the house, attending the Academy himself, she would be able to devote the necessary time. She is accustomed to caring for children, and she is most trustworthy in the venture. And I think she would enjoy it."

"I remember the Tokubetsu Jounin Uchiha Mikoto. She had considerable skill, and was almost as shrewd as you, though the Clan, knowing she would become the future Clan Head's wife, managed to mold her into the traditional subservient woman," Sarutobi said. Ah, Itachi's suspicions regarding his mother were confirmed. So she was a Tokubetsu Jounin—a respectable rank, especially considering she had retired early, as expected of the Lady Uchiha. Had she kept on, she might have risen higher.

"Then will this be the first action we take?" asked Itachi, deferring to his Hokage. Sarutobi thought for a moment longer, then nodded.

"Yes. It seems sound. You will remain where you are; I will interview the Clanmembers you suggested and see if there are Genin appropriate to place into Teams under them. And I will speak to Mikoto-san."

Itachi bowed. Straightening and meeting Sarutobi's eyes (it warmed him that the man met his gaze fully, without fear, this time) he said: "Understood, Hokage-sama. Thank you for trusting me."

"To be fair," said Sarutobi wryly, lifting his eyebrows, "I didn't trust you at first. I had you tested by my Torture and Interrogation Force."

"True, but you trusted me enough to not kill me immediately when I first came to you."

"There is that," Sarutobi admitted, smiling thinly. "Goodbye, Itachi-kun. We'll speak again."

"Sir," Itachi bowed once more, and left.

* * *

It was about the time the Academy classes let out for the day, so Itachi decided, as he left Hokage Tower, that he would meet Sasuke on the way and walk with his brother. He passed by the Academy and saw that it had let out already, so he turned down the street he knew his little brother took to get back to the Uchiha Compound. He would catch up quickly with Sasuke even without hurrying, so he walked at an easy pace. He took the time to drink in the sight and smells and sounds of Konoha at peace. It had been too long since he'd been able to enjoy it, and on this relatively quiet street, with boisterous Academy kids' voices and laughter floating around him, Itachi had a golden chance.

Ah. There was Sasuke. The younger boy was just passing by one of the forested parks within Konoha, about a block away from Itachi. Itachi quickened his step slightly, to be sure to catch his brother within the next block.

Itachi was just passing by the park when he heard laughter and a small cry. He paused, his conscience twinging as his mind identified the noises as a group of kids bullying another. He hesitated, his eyes going to his brother's back, but he felt drawn to protect whoever the outnumbered child was. He turned to the park and stepped into the trees.

There were three kids—two girls and a boy—half-circling a fourth kid at the base of one tree. The three were clearly tormenting the fourth, laughing and reaching out to jab fingers at the outcast.

"What is going on here?" Itachi asked softly, and they whirled, surprised to find him close behind them, having not heard his approach. Their faces showed varying degrees of emotion—one was obstinate, the ringleader, the other two had mixes of fear, obstinateness, and shame.

"Nothing," muttered the ringleader. She looked to her minions, jerked her chin: "C'mon, let's go."

Itachi stood aside to let them leave, the two minions flicking nervous glances at him before they fled. Then the Uchiha heir turned back to their target. He blinked in surprise, noticing for the first time (the punk trio had obscured his line of sight) that it was a younger girl about Sasuke's age… with pink hair. He recognized her, as he had kept close tabs on Sasuke after leaving the village. She was Haruno Sakura, the girl who would be placed on his little brother's Genin Team. And, if he remembered correctly, the girl who had loved his foolish Otouto, even after Sasuke had abandoned her and their village.

She was sniffling and looking miserable, even after her tormentors had gone. Because of having a little brother, Itachi knew something of how to interact with children. He looked down at the bowed pink head and said, gently: "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "'M okay. Thank you for making them go away."

"You're welcome," Itachi replied gravely. "Do they do this frequently?"

Sakura seemed to wilt. "Yes…"

Itachi paused, watching her. She kept her face down, bangs hanging over her eyes. "Do you want to know how to make them stop?"

She looked up at that, her eyes large and tearful in her child's face. "H-how?"

"Ignore them. Don't cry when they bother you like this. Don't cry and don't say anything to them. You're an Academy student, yes? Then study and practice and become a better ninja than they are; then they won't be able to pick on you." Itachi remembered her as being weak in the practical ninja arts when she was a Genin; perhaps he could change that. She became a strong ninja after she got her act together. She just needed a push in that direction. And if Konoha was going to face the enemies Itachi thought they would face, the village would need as many strong ninja as possible. Sakura didn't have the luxury of fooling around as she had in the other-past.

_:Sasuke will need strong Teammates... though I'll have to be sure to tell the Sandaime to keep the Naruto-Sasuke-Sakura team intact.: _Itachi knew how the Genin Teams were decided, and if Sakura took his advice now, she might rank higher in the class, potentially putting her in a different team.

Looking at the determined expression on her face, he thought that it might be the case.

"I'll be the best ninja!" she exclaimed, with the surety of a six-year-old. Itachi smiled a little.

"Are you all right getting home by yourself?" he asked. She nodded.

"Thank you!" she said, then hesitated.

"Itachi," he supplied. She beamed.

"Thank you, Itachi-san!" She dashed away, waving behind her as she went. Itachi watched her briefly, before turned back toward his path home. With a small mental sigh, Itachi realized that Sasuke would have likely nearly arrived at home by now. The Uchiha heir shook his head at himself and started walking again.

When he got home, his soft _'tadaima'_ called his mother to the front entrance. Itachi paused in removing his nin-sandals at the look on her face. He straightened: "What's wrong?"

She took a scroll from the pocket of her apron. "A message came for you."

Itachi wordlessly took the scroll, biting his thumb and smearing a line of blood across the blood-seal (for security, duty-related messages, mission briefs, and other such sensitive materials were always sealed with a bloodseal so that only the addressee could open and read them). He read the scroll quickly, feeling a pang of surprise. Was this earlier than it had been in the other-past? He didn't recall being quite so young the first time he'd received this message…

He looked up from the scroll to his worried mother. "I am invited to apply for ANBU."

Some of the tension left her shoulders—it was not a mission, then—before the actual message registered and her eyes widened. Itachi rolled the scroll up and tucked it into his pouch, then he sat and took off his nin-sandals, tucking them to the side of the _genkan_. Mikoto hesitated then asked: "What will you do?"

Itachi thought a moment. "I'm not sure," he replied.

This didn't seem to be the answer Mikoto was hoping for; her eyes narrowed and she said: "You don't mean you are actually considering it! You said that we have been pushing you to advance your career too quickly. This is the same!"

"It is a fast promotion," Itachi agreed quietly. "But ANBU answer directly to the Hokage. It is a show of trust, of inclusion. If I am accepted, it might help ease tensions between the Clan and the village."

"You know about…?" Mikoto whispered. Itachi gave her a wry look.

"I'm not blind, Mother." _This time… yet… _"I've noticed the malcontents." Itachi stepped into the house proper, but paused. "I'd appreciate it… if you didn't tell Father about my message."

Mikoto nodded mutely and watched her eldest son walk sedately to his room.

* * *

Once inside his room with the door slid firmly shut behind him, Itachi allowed his stoic mask to slip. His brow furrowed, he pulled the ANBU scroll out of his hip-pouch and stared at it. What was different this time? He could have sworn he wouldn't get this message for another year.

Was it Sarutobi's doing? But Itachi didn't think that the Hokage would have taken such an action without at least informing Itachi first. And it came so quickly after their meeting, it seemed unlikely. So what had changed that Itachi was receiving an invitation to ANBU a year before he should have?

Itachi tapped the scroll with his fingertips, eyes narrowed. There were two sides to this promotion. In his other-past, his induction into ANBU was pressed onto him by the Clan, because they wanted a spy in the Hokage's elite force. If he accepted this chance, they could ask him to do the same once again. But if this was a plot of the Hokage to show more trust in the Clan, it might be a bad thing if he declined.

Plus there were advantages to being inducted into ANBU. It would provide a cover for his meetings with Sarutobi, as ANBU reported directly and only to the Hokage. And it would give him higher security clearance. Perhaps he should…

"Nii-san!" Itachi turned his head, stuffing the scroll back into his pouch faster than the eye could see, as Sasuke threw open the door to his room. Sasuke paused, seeing Itachi looking at him. The six-year-old padded in on silent feet.

"Sasuke," Itachi replied, putting a bit of inquiry into his tone. Sasuke stared at him a bit longer then said:

"Kaa-san says we're eating now."

"Alright." Itachi walked toward the door, putting a gentle hand on his little brother's shoulder as he passed. "Come on, Otouto."

Sasuke hurried to walk beside his brother.


	4. The Rub

_TH: **EDIT 7/14/2010**. Some whoopsies fixed. Nothing ground-shaking.  
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**Perchance to Dream**

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**Chapter Four—The Rub

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Itachi woke in the middle of the night, all at once. The immediacy of his wakefulness alerted him that something was wrong—he'd trained himself very early on in his life to wake quickly whenever his subconscious registered any kind of threat, so it was a clear sign of danger that he was now lying perfectly still on his futon, staring up at the ceiling. He strained his senses, trying to identify what woke him.

_:Somebody called my name,: _he realized with a slight jolt. He got up, listening to the other normal sounds of a house at rest. He could hear Sasuke's steady breathing from the room beside his, and further down the hall, his parents' slow breaths. Everyone was asleep, save for him. Then, moving slowly and quietly, Itachi slid back the door leading from his room to the porch along the back of the house. There were pairs of slippers lined up neatly by the step down into the backyard, and he slipped on a pair before walking seemingly calmly to the stand of bamboo that lined the far end of the yard. He stopped a few yards from it.

"What do you want?" Itachi demanded lowly. A figure stepped out from the shadows where it had been waiting.

"You are very sharp, Itachi-kun." Thin moonlight traced the curve of a smooth oval mask. "I'm glad you heard me. I'd like to have a little chat with you…"

Itachi only just managed to restrain his reaction to seeing Madara. _:Itachi-kun? He's never called me 'kun' before… He… He doesn't know that he brought me back with him…:_

It seemed to be the case. Madara was watching him from behind that orange mask of his, apparently waiting for Itachi's reaction. Itachi reined in his first urge—which was to leap upon the damnable man and kill him once and for all—and instead, just eyed the taller man warily.

"Who are you?" he demanded, switching on his Sharingan.

"Me?" Madara said, voice falsely innocent. "Why, I am Uchiha Madara."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Uchiha Madara was supposed to have died years ago."

"Supposed to," Madara repeated with a measure of glee. "But I, obviously, did not."

"So you claim to be Uchiha Madara," Itachi said dismissively. "Why are you here? What do you want?"

"I want to help you, Itachi-kun," Madara said. "I want to help you and the Clan. Our Clan."

"Help us with what?" Itachi asked coolly. Damn it! Was Madara offering to help with the coup? Was that why he came back? Did he want to make allies of the Clan this time, rather than helping Itachi massacre them all?

"The Village doesn't trust you, does it? Doesn't listen to you?" Madara asked. They had both been speaking very quietly, to prevent anyone else from waking or hearing, but now Madara's voice gained an insidious quality to the harsh whispers. Or perhaps that was Itachi projecting his opinions of Madara onto the man. Perhaps Madara thought he sounded sympathetic, concerned. "Don't you want peace? Don't you want to live in a village that trusts you?"

Itachi's brain worked furiously, analyzing the madman's words. They didn't necessarily mean Madara wanted the Clan to get along with the Village. The words could very well mean that Madara was willing to help the Uchiha to take over Konoha. After a take-over, there would be peace, once the Clan secured their power. And in taking over the Village, they would eliminate those who did not trust the Clan, resulting in a village only of Uchiha supporters.

Hesitantly, Itachi replied: "Yes, I want to reconcile with the Village."

Let Madara think that he'd tricked Itachi. Let him believe Itachi had swallowed his lies. But the young Uchiha heir's words were also double-sided.

Itachi frowned then: "But why did you come to me? Why not my father?"

"You are stronger than your father, Itachi-kun. The Uchiha heir, the prodigy. The Village holds you in awe, they idolize you. They don't do that with your father. You are the bridge between the Village and the Clan," Madara said. That was all true, but… Itachi could read the underlying meaning of the statements.

_:He's trying to get me on his side now because I can act as a spy against the Village, because of my standing in it, as he just said. Also, he is afraid of me. He knows what I can become, knows how strong I am. That's why he's trying to trick me instead of persuade me. He doesn't want me as an enemy; he wants to keep me somewhere where he can keep an eye on me. He's already planning ways he could assassinate me if he needs too, no doubt. And he _will_ come to my father. Fugaku is the Clan Head; if Madara gets him on his side, then Madara effectively will have the Clan at his beck and call.:_

But Madara was going about all this with the assumption that Uchiha Itachi was a pacifistic eleven year old. In this, Itachi had an advantage. Madara obviously thought that Itachi was young and naïve enough to believe these lies, these promises. The fool. He had always underestimated Itachi, even in the other-past.

Itachi could keep these advantages if he acted this just right. He let a small measure of uncertainty show on his face, the merest flicker as if a breech in his mask (_see, I am young, imperfect; sometimes I slip up_) and he said slowly _(see, I am tempted, I am considering your words)_: "I will… I will have to think on this…"

It wasn't a no, and it wasn't a yes, but Madara's past experience with Itachi had proven some measure of willingness in the younger Uchiha to cooperate and work with him. Itachi had, after all, contacted Madara for help with the Massacre. Madara had this basis to expect Itachi to be tempted to join with him, if Itachi came to believe Madara's way to be the best path to peace.

But Itachi wasn't as young as he'd been last time. He wasn't as trapped. This time around, he had other hope.

"Of course," Madara said graciously. "Of course, I'll give you time. I will return later for your answer."

Madara inclined his head very slightly in farewell… and vanished, using one form of his teleportation abilities. It was a 'flashy' way to depart, not in that it created a spectacle, but because it was perfectly silent, with no flicker of chakra residue, no poof of smoke. It was a show of power and control. It was also a very arrogant departure; he had not specified _when _he would come for Itachi's answer, clearly expecting the younger Uchiha to wait obediently until he returned.

Itachi frowned. Well, in any case, now he knew why the mad Uchiha had come back. Now, what to do about it? He turned around and walked back to the house.

* * *

He woke the next morning, early. It was important that he inform the Hokage as soon as possible of Madara's visit and apparent intentions, but Itachi was also wary of going straight to Sarutobi without some other alibi in place—he would be a fool to think Madara wasn't watching him.

When Itachi entered the kitchen, he was somewhat surprised to find his mother sitting at the table, dressed in fine clothes instead of the normal attire she wore when working around the house. He paused in the door, and she looked up at him.

"Good morning, Itachi," she said. He could see, now that she was looking up, that her brow was furrowed in thought.

"Good morning, Okaa-san," he replied. He went to the refrigerator and took out some of the onigiri he'd made the day before for his breakfast. Sitting down at the table, he ate them quickly, and washed them down with a glass of orange juice. Then he said: "Are you going somewhere today?"

His mother set down the teacup she'd been spinning idly in her hands. "Yes. The Hokage has asked to see me."

Her voice gave away her confusion at why the Hokage would want to speak with her. Itachi tipped his head to the side. "Would you like me to walk with you? I want to see the Hokage myself, to talk about ANBU."

"Oh," Mikoto said. "Yes, we can walk together."

"When is your meeting?"

Mikoto sighed. "Soon enough that we should leave now."

"I am ready, then, if you would like to leave," Itachi responded. They cleaned up their breakfast dishes, donned their footwear, and left. Walking through the quiet early-morning streets of the Uchiha Compound, Itachi and his mother kept a comfortable silence. At least until Itachi asked Mikoto quietly: "What does the Hokage wish to speak with you about?"

"He has requested that I consider a teaching position at the Academy," Mikoto said. Itachi could hear the indecision in her voice.

"Hm," he responded. "There is a greater need for teachers, because of the increased enrollment now. And you were once a kunoichi, and you've raised children. You are qualified."

"You know I was a ninja?" Mikoto asked, surprised somewhat, since she had never even hinted at the fact. When she'd become the Lady Uchiha, she'd left her kunoichi training behind, and had dropped all titles and ranks she'd had. That part of her life had more or less faded into forgotten memory.

"It is obvious in the way you move," Itachi told her. Mikoto blinked.

"I… I see."

"Would you enjoy teaching?" Itachi asked. Mikoto hesitated.

"Yes. I think I would," she replied finally.

"Then you should accept," Itachi said. "With Sasuke in school now, you do not need to stay at home during the day anymore. You could do something you would enjoy, and provide a service to the village."

Mikoto's eyes slid to him at the last bit, a thoughtful look on her face. Itachi wondered briefly what, exactly, she was thinking. He had attempted to imply a level of loyalty to the Village with his words. He had yet to broach the subject of the divided Clan-Village loyalties with his mother; he hoped to work his way to it. If he did it right, Mikoto would come to see loyalty to Konoha as the safest option regarding her sons' futures, and would side with Itachi against the coup. He did think she had leanings toward that view already, but he wanted to make sure. Was it manipulative? Perhaps. But that didn't make it wrong.

They reached the Hokage's Tower and Mikoto went in to her appointment as Itachi waited patiently outside. As he waited he saw a familiar face. Or mask, as the case may be.

Itachi nodded respectfully toward the infamous Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi, and was privately gratified when the subtle greeting was returned before the older shinobi vanished on whatever errand had brought him to the Tower. Itachi had been Kakashi's subordinate briefly, in the other-past. He had respected, and to a certain extent admired, the grey-haired Hatake. When Itachi had been black-marked as a _nukenin_ and murderer in the other-past, it had stung somewhat when he'd faced fellow loyal Konoha ninja and they looked on him with hatred and contempt. It stung more when they were shinobi and kunoichi Itachi had respected. Those fights he'd had with Kakashi in the other-past had left a bitter taste in Itachi's mouth and a harsh ache in his chest, though he hadn't let his remorse at the situation affect him at the time. Itachi was glad, once again, for this chance to seek a better path.

"Itachi-kun?" his mother's voice distracted him from his musings, and Itachi turned to face Mikoto, who was standing just at the threshold of the Hokage's office.

"The Hokage said that he had some open time now to speak with you," she said.

"You have finished your appointment?" Itachi asked, and Mikoto inclined her head.

"Yes," she replied, but didn't offer any other information. Itachi respected her privacy and didn't try to pry into what her decision had been—to teach or not. He merely nodded understanding and walked into Sarutobi's office as his mother stepped out of the way. She shut the door behind him, as he went to stand before the Hokage.

"Itachi-kun," Sarutobi said, "to what do I owe this meeting?"

Itachi paused before he said anything, scanning the office and picking out the chakra signatures of the ANBU who were on bodyguard duty today. The muscles in his jaw tightened as he identified one to be a spy of Danzo's—the Council member, leader of ANBU Root, and political opponent of Sarutobi. The man who had been the largest player behind the Uchiha Massacre order, the one who had pushed it through. Itachi did not want the spy to overhear the discussion he was about to have with the Hokage.

Without letting any sign show that he suspected the spy, Itachi asked quietly: "Hokage-sama, may we speak alone?"

Sarutobi paused for the barest of moments before giving a small gesture. The ANBU could do nothing but obey the direct order. At once, the presence of the ANBU agents vanished from Itachi's formidable senses. They were truly out of the room, and not within hearing. Even so, Itachi made a circuit of the room, inspecting closely. The Hokage watched him silently, patiently waiting until the Uchiha heir had satisfied his cautious nature.

When Itachi at last came back to stand in front of Sarutobi's desk, the Hokage interlaced his fingers and propped his chin on them. "So, what do you need to say that is so secretive that not even my personal guards could hear?"

"There are some in your personal guard," Itachi said to begin with, "who are not only loyal to _you_. I advise you do not take action against them, but be wary in what you say when they are near. Danzo has ears everywhere."

Sarutobi's eyebrows lifted. "Danzo?"

Itachi nodded. "You already know he does not agree with the way you lead Konoha. He is… one to watch. I will give you a list of names of those who have loyalties to Danzo. But this is not the matter I wished to speak with you about."

"Oh?"

Itachi took out the message scroll he'd received the day before. "First there is this. Yesterday, I received an invitation to apply for ANBU. I was not expecting this for at least a year. Is this your doing?"

"No, I didn't know of this," Sarutobi said, brow furrowing as he looked at the scroll. "You didn't expect it… Then, what has changed that you received it now?"

Itachi shook his head. "I don't know. That is why I asked you. I see the benefits and the consequences that could come of my joining now… I am considering accepting and taking the exam."

"Tell me, what are the benefits and consequences, as you see them?" the Hokage asked, regarding Itachi in a very teacherly manner—as if Sarutobi were a philosophy professor quizzing a student. So Itachi explained his thoughts on the subject, as he had determined them prior to the meeting. By the end, Sarutobi was nodding thoughtfully. "Yes… Yes, I can see the benefit. I think you may be right in accepting. I expect you'll have no problems with the entry tests."

"No, I expect not," Itachi replied.

"Alright, then you will apply for ANBU," the Hokage said, leaning back in his chair. "Was that all you wished to speak with me about?"

"No," Itachi said bluntly. "Uchiha Madara contacted me last night, in the dead of the night."

Sarutobi sat forward abruptly, gaze sharpening. "What?"

Grimly, Itachi laid out the situation fully.

* * *

It was reassuring, to a certain extent, to have others on his side, fully informed as to the situation. The ninja world had always had an appreciation for the efficacy of teamwork. Itachi saw and appreciated the benefits. But he also thought that, in this case, it also posed problems. Like: how would others being privy to future events change the subsequent flow of time and cause-and-effect? If too many people knew, if too much was changed, then everything Itachi knew of what would happen would change and his knowledge would be useless.

Of course, when you really get down to it, it was partially useless already. Madara was also changing things. Itachi's only advantage, really, was that Madara didn't know Itachi had come back too. Itachi could assume that Madara would take some of the same steps—the effective ones, the ones Madara had been happy with in the other-past—and in that way, preemptively work against the older Uchiha's plots.

Still. It was a slight lightening of Itachi's burden to have the Sandaime in on the situation. It paid to have more than one set of eyes and more than one mind analyzing a situation. Sarutobi might see or think of something that Itachi wouldn't.

The Uchiha heir walked sedately down a street in the market district of Konoha, slowly acclimating himself once more to living the life of a high-profile ninja in a Hidden Village. It was an exercise to pay attention to his surroundings, filter his paranoid responses to looks and whispers, and consider his thoughts all at once.

"Oi! Itachi-kun!" the familiar shout had Itachi turning to pick out Shisui's intent face from the crowd. His cousin winded his way through the throng of people easily and came before Itachi. "Hey little cousin, what's up?"

Itachi tilted his head to the side, considering the question. "I am not sure."

Shisui rolled his eyes at the odd answer, but didn't comment. He was used to the strangeness of his younger relation. "Well, then, how about we spar a bit? I could use a little exercise right now."

"Very well," Itachi replied. The two Uchiha started off through the crowd side-by-side. After a pause, Itachi said: "Has something happened?"

"Eh?" Shisui questioned, squinting down at Itachi. The younger Uchiha elaborated.

"I was wondering if there was a reason why you said you felt like you needed a spar." Itachi had a suspicion that there was, and also thought he knew what that reason was.

"Hmf," Shisui said, rubbing the back of his head and frowning a bit. "I was asked if I had an interest in becoming a Genin Team leader."

Ah, yes. His suspicion was proven correct. Sarutobi had certainly not wasted any time. But that was good; it meant he took what Itachi had said seriously. Itachi glanced at his cousin. "Will you accept?"

Shisui shrugged uncomfortably. "I don't know…"

Itachi canted his head to the side. "Do you think this trust in you is misplaced?"

Shisui turned to stared down at him with a pretty incredulous expression on his face. "Well… no…"

It was clear from his tone that he hadn't thought of the teaching opportunity as a show of trust on the part of the village's leaders. Itachi turned his face forward once more. This was delicate. He couldn't beat on the subject too much, or else Shisui would become suspicious himself.

"Perhaps training a Genin Team will finally force you to become more mature," Itachi mused aloud.

"Oi," said Shisui in annoyance. "Maybe you should get a Genin Team; they could teach you to be less of a granite-faced stoic."

Itachi inwardly smiled. Shisui was one of the few who could, or had ever been able to, tease the Uchiha heir like this.


	5. Pale Cast of Thought

_TH:Okay, first of all: Whaaaaat happened? All the sudden I'm getting ridiculous numbers of story alerts on this! It's awesome! I love you guys!_

_Ahem... Second of all: YAAAY! Germany beat Argentina! Oh man, oh man, I'm really rooting for a final match between Germany and the Netherlands._

_Third, please read and review. Much obliged!  
_

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**Perchance to Dream**

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**Chapter Five—Pale Cast of Thought

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Itachi paused upon entering his house, ears picking up the very quiet conversation going on in one of the rooms. From the direction and acoustics, Itachi determined that his father and mother were speaking in the room his father generally reserved for his 'study.' It was where he frequently called Itachi for their 'talks.'

"—asked to take on a teaching position at the Academy. I am planning on accepting," his mother was saying. Her voice was the light, inoffensive 'wife' voice she used when addressing her husband, but Itachi also detected an undercurrent of steel.

"Your place is to provide for the family," Fugaku said, a little disapprovingly.

"My teaching at the Academy will not interfere with my duties in the house," Mikoto replied confidently. "Sasuke is at the Academy now, you are away all day with the _Keimu Butai_, and Itachi has his own duties to fulfill. There is no reason I should stay in an empty house during the day. I will return from the Academy in time to prepare dinner, and the hours I work will leave plenty of time for me to take care of the house."

"I suppose if you are sure it won't interfere, I will allow you to accept the position," Fugaku responded grudgingly after a moment of silence.

"I wasn't asking for permission," Mikoto responded sweetly. "I have already accepted."

Itachi was torn between concern for his mother, inciting Fugaku's ire, and amusement at what he imagined his father's expression to be at the declaration. He shook his head briefly, pulled off his nin-sandals, and called into the house: "_Tadaima_!"

He heard what he assumed to be the sound of his mother bowing perfunctorily to his father, and then a door sliding and footsteps. Mikoto appeared and greeted her eldest son. "_Okaeri_, Itachi-kun."

"Hello, Okaa-chan," Itachi replied. He leveled curious eyes on her, but she merely smiled serenely and said:

"I must start dinner now, if we're going to eat on time. Has Sasuke returned from the Academy yet?"

"I have not seen him," Itachi replied. "I was training with Shisui."

"How is Shisui-kun?" Mikoto asked, turning to enter the kitchen. Itachi followed her.

"He is fine. He was recently asked to consider becoming a Genin Team leader."

Mikoto looked at Itachi in slight surprise. "Is that right?"

"Shisui, a Genin Team leader?" Fugaku came into the kitchen with his eyebrows raised. Itachi turned to coolly greet his father.

"Hello, Otou-san. Yes, Shisui just told me today he was invited to accept the honor of training a Genin Team."

"Hmm," Fugaku said, a thoughtful frown on his face. "You have not been asked this, have you, Itachi?"

"If they are intending on offering me a Genin Team, they have not yet," Itachi replied noncommittally.

"Good," grunted Fugaku. "Some one with your skills shouldn't be dragged down by a bunch of children."

"Many of the Genin are my age, Otou-san," Itachi reminded his father blandly. "And is it not an honor to be entrusted with teaching the next generation of Konoha's ninja?"

"Hmpf," said Fugaku, as he turned to leave. Itachi narrowed his eyes at his father's back before turning back to his mother, who was watching with a vaguely concerned look. She might have spoken, but a clatter and shout from the front door as Sasuke arrived home interrupted her. Itachi turned away as his younger brother came into the kitchen. Sasuke's face lit up at the sight of his beloved older brother.

"Nii-san!" he exclaimed, and ran to Itachi's side. Itachi allowed himself a small smile.

"_Okaeri_, Sasuke," he replied.

"Did you have a mission today? You were gone when I woke up!" Sasuke asked.

"No, I didn't have a mission. I just had some things to do in the Village," Itachi replied. He eyed Sasuke's messenger bag, which still hung over the boy's shoulder. "Do you have a lot of homework tonight?"

Sasuke's face fell, and he pouted. "Yeah… I have to do two worksheets! It's not fair. Why do I have to know how to write? I just want to be a ninja!"

"Being able to write is a ninja skill, Sasuke," Itachi informed the six-year-old with hidden amusement. The boy looked at him incredulously.

"No way! Why?"

"Ninja have to know how to do a lot of things so that any disguise they use is convincing," Itachi said, and waited as Sasuke's face screwed up as he tried to understand. "If you were disguised as a merchant, you would have to know how to write, yes?"

"I guess…"

"Ninja also have to write mission reports, to tell the Hokage what happened on their missions."

"Why can't we just _tell_ him?"

"The Hokage can't sit and listen to every active ninja's report. He has other things to do as well."

"Oh." Sasuke was deflating rapidly. Itachi smiled. His little brother needed a cooler reason to learn how to write, it seemed.

"There are some very powerful jutsu that require written seals to activate; knowing how to write is necessary to do these techniques."

That piqued Sasuke's interest. Of course, mention powerful jutsu to nearly any boy that age will give you their undivided attention. Itachi answered Sasuke's excited 'really?' with a solemn nod.

"Of course," their mother interjected, "you need to be _really good _at writing before you can even think about trying them."

"Okay!" Sasuke said, and ran off, ostensibly to practice his writing with unequaled fervor. Mikoto gave Itachi a wry look in the wake of the younger boy's departure.

"You weren't going to show him those jutsu, were you? He's a little young to be getting ideas in his head," she said.

"Certainly not yet," Itachi replied with a smirk. Mikoto sighed and shook her head in exasperation, acknowledging that her boys would probably be getting up to antics in the not-too-distant future.

"Just don't injure yourselves," she said severely.

"Of course, Kaa-chan."

* * *

After dinner, Itachi excused himself from the house, intending on spending the rest of the evening in the village's library. The question of why he'd come back with Madara in the space-time jutsu born from the older Uchiha's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan had been plaguing Itachi, and he wanted to see if he could find anything that might help him determine what had happened.

He nodded to the librarian, an elderly man who recognized Itachi from the many days the Uchiha heir had spent in the library, as he entered the building, and wandered back to the stacks where the scrolls on jutsu theory were kept. He pulled out all of those that talked about transportation jutsu.

Madara's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan may be powerful, but it was still bound by the same laws as other jutsu. The universe had set limits, it had its natural laws. Even though chakra manipulation might seem like magic to some, even if it seemed to break the natural laws, really it was bound tightly to them. Chakra didn't raise you above the world. It tied you more firmly to it.

Itachi pulled also several large volumes from the physics section of the library, and staked out a wide table near the back of the building. He sat and considered the piled information he'd gathered. Well, might as well pick a point and just start. Itachi took up one of the jutsu scrolls.

A few hours later, he'd made a few conclusions.

For a successful transportation jutsu, you need to know where you're going. You need a locus. The _kuchiyose no jutsu _works this way: by the summoner forming the seals and spilling his blood, he gives the summons a locus. The summons appears at that spot, hearing the call and using the blood as a locus for their transportation. The Yondaime's _Hiraishin no jutsu _worked like this as well; the Yondaime would mark his destination with kunai inked with jutsu formulae and once the jutsu was activated, he would be transported instantaneously to the location of those markers. Shisui, who was known as _Shunshin no Shisui_ for his proficient use of the _shunshin_, didn't use marked loci for his technique. The trick to that was that the _shunshin_ wasn't actually teleportation. It was a high-speed movement technique that only seemed like teleportation. It was only good for moving quickly from one point to the next, and you had to be able to _see_ your destination. Otherwise it was like running blind; you'd eventually smash into something.

Transporting yourself or other items without using loci was incredibly dangerous for much the same reason. One slight miscalculation, and you could teleport yourself to somewhere you didn't mean to go: worst case scenario would be into the middle of a wall or mountain. No one was really sure if death would be instantaneous in those situations, or if you'd be aware long enough to feel the crippling agony of having your cells spliced with stone. On the lesser end of the 'bad' scale: Accidentally teleporting into enemy territory. Even this lesser threat caused most sane ninja to use loci to mark their destination.

The way teleportation jutsu seemed to work was by folding space. Humans cannot move faster than, or even at, the speed of light. It was entirely impossible. So instead, what transportation jutsu do is to cause an invisible fold in space, on the quantum level. Using your chakra to force space into the fold, you would line up your origin and destination, and then the jutsu would allow you to pass through the fold, disappearing in one location and appearing in another. The more radical the fold, the more chakra it took. The loci you set up at your destination helped you to fold space precisely, so that unfortunate roaming accidents didn't happen.

Madara's Mangekyo was, Itachi believed, constrained by the same limitations. The only difference was that he moved through both time _and _space. Such a fold was more difficult, for obvious reasons, than just a fold in space. Loci helped, of course, but… Can you make a locus in a place and time you have, for whatever reason, never been?

Without a loci, the chakra needed to force a precise fold in space and time is immense. Immeasurably. It was, essentially, as impossible as moving at the speed of light. And an inaccurate fold could, and most likely would, end in disaster. So then, how did Madara manage?

The Uncertainty Principle stated that certain pairs of physical properties cannot both be known to precision: You cannot know both the momentum and the position of a given particle. Itachi believed that the relationship of time and space in Madara's jutsu was the same. You could not be precise in both at the same time, but you could be precise in one. So Madara either specified this exact time for his jutsu destination, or he specified this exact place.

Itachi was leaning toward the former. Madara seemed to have a plan that hinged on this exact time, the time leading up to the Uchiha Massacre. He would have had to make sure he arrived at the exact moment he wanted to. But then… if that was the case, why did Madara also appear within the general area of where he wanted? Folding time back so that he could teleport eleven years in the past… that would cause some serious warping of the associated space and the chances of Madara would appear in such a… well, reasonable location… were ridiculously small.

Somehow, Madara had managed to set a locus here, now. Although he did live in this time, he probably couldn't have known he'd need such a locus eleven years from now. Unless he just created scattered loci just in case. And then maintained them on a regular basis; jutsu loci didn't last particularly long, if you wanted to use them, you needed to reform them regularly. Of course, Itachi wouldn't put it past him; Madara was thorough, and he did have a lot of time to refine his plans.

But that still left the question of _why _Itachi had been dragged along. Just an accident? Madara had activated his teleportation jutsu too close to Itachi's dying body and Itachi had been caught up in it as well? It seemed strange for Madara to have made such a mistake. And why was Itachi eleven again?

Madara didn't know 22-year-old Itachi was here. Which meant that it probably wasn't that his body had un-aged; if his dying body had been brought back along with Madara, Madara would have noticed such a phenomenon. Which meant that it was likely only Itachi's 22-year-old mind, or spirit, that was in this young body. Perhaps… Upon arriving in this time, Itachi was in limbo. His 22-year-old body was dying, but at the same time, his 11-year-old body was perfectly healthy and living. Perhaps there had been some sort of resonance between the two, and when the older body had finally failed, his spirit had been flung back into his younger-self, like a rubber band snapping back after having been stretched. Or like a magnet attracted to another magnet.

Did that mean that his decaying 22-year-old corpse was somewhere out there? What an odd thought…

Itachi looked up as he sensed the librarian's approach. The man looked sympathetically apologetic as he came to Itachi's table and said: "Sorry, Uchiha-san, but the library is closing for the night soon. I can give you five minutes to wrap things up."

"I understand," Itachi replied easily. "Is it alright if I leave these materials here and ask you to reserve this table for me?"

"Certainly," the librarian responded. Itachi nodded his thanks, and neatly ordered the books and scrolls into stacks on the tabletop before standing. He ran his eyes across the table one last time to make sure he didn't forget anything and then left with one last nod to the librarian.

He took the long way home; walking sedately through the nighttime streets toward the Uchiha Compound. It gave him time to mull over what he'd theorized and concluded. By the time he reached his home, he was weary mentally and physically. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit his pillow.

* * *

Itachi woke at his usual time the next morning, and rose to a quiet house. His parents would wake soon, his father to head to his job with the _Konoha Keimu Butai _and his mother to start her daily housework. It was a Sunday, so Sasuke didn't have Academy, but the boy would likely sleep for a couple hours yet.

After he'd gone through his morning ablutions, the older Uchiha son padded silently to the kitchen and pulled together his own cold breakfast. It was just as he was cleaning up that he felt a chakra signature approaching the house. It was familiar. Itachi went to the front door and opened it before the man on the other side could knock.

"Ah…" Yamanaka Inoichi said, a little hesitantly, not looking particularly surprised to see Itachi waiting for him. "I… saw that you should be awake at this time of day, when I used my jutsu on you… I hope that wasn't presumptuous of me."

"Not at all," Itachi replied smoothly. He wondered a little why Inoichi would have sought him out like this; he had a slight suspicion. "You were correct; I am usually awake by this time. My family is still sleeping, however. You wanted to speak to me? Then shall we go somewhere else?"

Inoichi nodded. "We can go to my office," he murmured. Itachi inclined his head, indicating for Inoichi to lead the way. They walked in silence to the Torture and Interrogation Department, attached to the ANBU Headquarters. Inoichi's office was smallish, and contained several filing cabinets and a large desk. The Yamanaka didn't sit at the desk but propped his hip against the edge of it instead. Itachi remained standing as well, waiting for the older shinobi to speak. Finally, Inoichi cleared his throat. It was obvious he was slightly at a loss as to how to interact with the Uchiha heir.

"Listen, I…" he trailed off, and frowned. "Obviously, I'm well aware of where you're from, who you are, and what you're trying to accomplish here. I saw everything you saw, everything that happened…. then. I suppose that I just wanted to say that I wanted to help. I… agree that what happened in that other timeline _cannot_ be allowed to happen _here_."

Truth to tell, Itachi was slightly surprised by the offer of assistance. Itachi had more expected Inoichi to just want to discuss what he'd seen when he'd entered Itachi's head. The Uchiha allowed a small measure of his gratitude and pleased surprise to show on his face, enough to show the Yamanaka just what the offer meant to him.

"Thank you, Yamanaka-san. I appreciate the offer. I assume that Hokage-sama has kept you and Ibiki-san abreast of the situation?" At Inoichi's affirmative, Itachi continued: "There isn't much we can do right now. I'm trying to head off the Uchiha Coup and Massacre. Now that Madara has involved himself… We will need to be perhaps a bit more aggressive in bettering the relationship between the Clan and the rest of Konoha. And vigilant for detecting and crushing Madara's influence."

"I see," Inoichi said, his brow furrowed in thought. "Is there anything I can do?"

Itachi smiled thinly. "Keep an eye out for the threats you have seen in my memories. I can't do everything that needs to be done. You know very well what other dangers lurk out there; you've experienced them through me. And you've likely briefed Ibiki-san on them as well. The two of you are in a better position than I for investigating the situation with Orochimaru, the Akatsuki, and their ilk."

"Right," Inoichi nodded. He paused and sighed, raising a hand to rub his forehead. "Everything went to hell, didn't it?"

He meant in Itachi's other past. The time-traveler replied wryly: "That would be an apt description."

* * *

Itachi returned home to find his mother smiling as she dusted the sitting room; she looked up when her eldest son walked in, and her smile widened. Without his even having to ask, she said: "Next week there will be a graduation ceremony at the Academy. The following week will see the admittance of a new class; I am to be their teacher."

"Congratulations," Itachi said, giving her a smile back. She nodded, and continued cleaning with a lightness to her step.

Itachi continued through the house to the back porch; Sasuke was awake now, and apparently practicing one of the more basic jutsu—the _kawarimi_. There was a thick log lying on the ground next to Sasuke, and the boy himself had a look of intense concentration on his face as he held his hands together in the seals. Itachi watched quietly, making sure not to interrupt his brother.

There was a large puff of smoke and a sharp bang, and when the cloud had cleared, Sasuke and the log had traded places. "Good job, Sasuke."

His little brother span at the sound of his voice, sighted him, and grinned. "Nii-san!"

Itachi walked down to his brother, pausing to slip on a pair of sandals at the edge of the porch. "That was a good _Kawarimi no jutsu_. Can you do it again?"

"Yeah!" Sasuke replied immediately. His eyes narrowed and he went through the handseals again, and… another cloud of smoke, another bang, and Sasuke and the log had switched back. Itachi nodded his approval.

"Good. Once you can successfully complete the jutsu ten times in a row, you can start learning how to decrease the amount of smoke and noise it produces."

Sasuke nodded enthusiastically. "Will you teach me then?"

Itachi paused a bare moment before responding. "Sure."

Sasuke looked elated, but slowly his expression fell and his face became somber. He eyed his older brother silently. Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Otouto?"

Sasuke blinked, frowning. "It something wrong, Onii-san?"

Itachi's other eyebrow rose to join the first. "What's brought this up?"

Sasuke shrugged, shuffling his feet and averting his eyes. He mumbled: "I dunno… It's just you're usually so busy with missions and now you're not. I thought maybe you got hurt or something."

Part of Itachi's heart hurt at the fact that Sasuke had thought something might be wrong because he'd been seeing more of his brother than usual. It was a sad allusion to the rift that would grow between them… if Itachi were forced to walk that path again.

The older Uchiha son forced a smirk, and poked Sasuke's forehead, to the boy's dismay. "It's nothing to worry about, Sasuke. I've just had a break. The Hokage knows that he can't work his ninja too hard or they'll falter."

Sasuke looked up at his brother, pouting a little, one hand raised to his forehead. Itachi tried to make his expression as reassuring as possible. He must have succeeded, because Sasuke's face cleared and he nodded complete acceptance of the explanation. Then, perhaps inevitably… "Hey! Will you train with me, then, if you have no missions?"

Itachi bit back a laugh, and said mildly: "Maybe we should eat first. It is lunchtime."

Sasuke's eyes went wide in surprise, and his hand went to his stomach, as if just realizing he was hungry. "Oh. Yeah!"

The six-year-old dashed off toward the house, and Itachi followed more sedately, shaking his head in quiet amusement.


	6. Devoutly to be Wished

_TH: Oh well. Congrats, Spain, for your first World Cup win! Even though I would have loved for Germany to gotten to the final and won the cup, I am glad the two finalist teams were countries that had never won the World Cup before. Sigh. Four more years till the next chance, Germany!_

_Once again, **THERE WILL BE NO PAIRINGS** in this fic._

_Thanks for all the alerts, faves, reviews, and additions to communities. I really, really appreciate your support, people!  
_

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**Perchance to Dream**

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**Chapter Six—Devoutly to be Wished

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The following week brought few changes, which Itachi counted as half a good thing and half a bad thing. First, it meant that Madara hadn't sprung whatever trap he'd been weaving. However, it also meant that his father hadn't been swayed by the increased acceptance and integration the Clan had received from the rest of the Village. There were more Uchiha with Genin Teams, more Uchiha interacting with other Villagers, more bonds forged, more trust growing. There was a growing mutual acceptance, and a lessening of tensions.

But only slightly. And not enough to make Fugaku take notice of the opening path, the non-military-coup path. But perhaps, Itachi hoped, enough of the other Clanmembers would have been placated and would withdraw their support of the plan. Fugaku wouldn't be able to commence the plan if it would mean tearing the Clan apart.

Or at least, Itachi believed he wouldn't, as long as Madara hadn't completely subverted the man. If Madara had Fugaku entirely under his control, there was a chance that the plan would be set in motion even if it meant Uchiha fighting against Uchiha… Itachi hoped it wouldn't come to that.

But despite his continued concerns, there were some bright spots. His mother had begun teaching at the Academy, and was happier than Itachi had seen her in a long time. From what he could tell, her students also loved her, even though she couldn't be described as a very easy teacher. She challenged them, but she did it in a way that they didn't seem to mind. Shisui, too, seemed to take to teaching with a measure of enjoyment. As Itachi had suspected, as he had teased Shisui over a week prior, the responsibility of training a Genin Team had forced Shisui into a more mature mindset. He was training the next generation of ninja, the next generation of Konoha's protectors. Their success was linked closely with his. And he was essentially responsible for their lives. It had caused Shisui to, at least when he was dealing with the young Academy graduates, adopt a more serious air. He still joked, and still maintained the small spark of mischief that lit his eyes, but took his role seriously and made attempts to be the best Jounin sensei he could.

His Genin, for their part, were enthusiastic, and bright. They had, either before or after being assigned him as their sensei, heard of Shisui's fame (he was, after all, _Shunshin no Shisui_). This made them look on him with awe, and perhaps a little hero-worship. They respected him, and had he asked it of them, they would have probably even tried to net the sun for him. In a way, it was good for Shisui to be so valued, and not just as a weapon, but as an idol, a role model. The Clan and the Village seemed to care for him for his abilities as a shinobi. His Genin thought he was the most awesome person alive, and asked his opinion on everything, even things beyond the ninja profession.

And Itachi could see the affection with which Shisui viewed the pre-teens. He was clearly fond of them, and the fact that they were outside of the Clan seemed a good sign to Itachi. If Shisui was able to translate the fondness for his Team to a fondness for the rest of the Village…

There were also three other Uchiha Jounin who had been given Genin Teams. Itachi had surreptitiously observed them and had seen promise in those relationships as well. They also seemed to be warming to the rest of the population of Konoha, softened by the unassuming trust and affection of the younger ninja-in-training.

Itachi spent the week studying the scrolls and books he'd compiled at the library, as well as training. He was back in his eleven-year-old body after having been twenty-two. He needed to get used to being shorter and physically weaker again. Of course, there were benefits to being young again. For one, he wasn't crippled by disease (having not yet contracted the illness that had so weakened him before) and the detrimental side-effects of the Mangekyo (having had not used it in this body).

Being who he was, he quickly returned to fighting trim. Itachi had never particularly liked the violent aspect of being a shinobi, but he enjoyed the discipline and aesthetic nature of the ninja arts. It felt good to train. It was especially exhilarating to be able to breathe and not feel the vice of his disease constrict his lungs, to be able to dodge and run and train and not end up convulsed on the ground, coughing blood. To be able to see his surroundings, his beloved home and his precious people, with the clarity of vision that had been restored to him along with his youthful body. He had never used the Mangekyo at age eleven, so the blindness that had afflicted him after his extensive use of the Mangekyo wasn't an issue any more. He could see, he could breathe, he could play with his brother, speak to his mother, and train with Shisui…

Yes; despite his concerns, Itachi felt more joy than he had in a very long time.

He also felt more determination than he had perhaps ever in his life. He'd lost all of this once before. He would die a thousand times over before he would let Madara take it away again.

* * *

"You haven't had a mission in over a week. It's an insult to your skills." Itachi kept his eyes lowered as he sat before his irate father. It wouldn't do for Fugaku to see the slow-burning anger in his son's eyes. At least not just yet. A quick glance to the side showed that his mother's face was tense with hidden worry—Itachi knew her well enough to see it. Since she was seated slightly behind Fugaku, the Uchiha Clan Head didn't see the look on his wife's face. Whether he would have been able to decipher it even if he had seen it was questionable.

"The Hokage isn't utilizing you. There is no reason why he shouldn't be; you are one of the top shinobi in the Village. It's insulting," Fugaku reiterated.

"I requested that the Hokage give me a small break from missions," Itachi interjected expressionlessly. Fugaku's nostrils flared.

"You did what?"

"My mission schedule of late has been overfull; I was overextended and my performance was beginning to show it. I requested a break from active duty before my lowered capacity did not compromise any missions," Itachi explained. It was a partial lie, but it was a completely believable one. Fugaku grunted, displeased.

"You did so without discussing it with the Elders?" he demanded of his oldest son. Itachi felt a stab of anger, but kept his voice level as he replied.

"I did not think the Elders would have approved of my bothering them with such a trivial matter. Especially not one with such an obvious and necessary remedy." A subtle dig.

"It is not so trivial as you might think, Itachi," Fugaku reprimanded. "Your standing in the Village reflects upon the Clan. You know this. You are a symbol of the Clan for the rest of Konoha; they look to you and see the Clan. You cannot be seen as weak or vulnerable."

"I should think," Itachi said a tone of voice his enemies might have recognized, but that his father had not yet heard from him in this timeline, "that with more Clanmembers now in prominent public and social positions, I am not the only Uchiha the Village looks to any longer."

"_You _are the Clan prodigy, _you _are the Clan's rising shinobi. It is _you _we want them to watch, but they can't do that if you are sequestered away, not completing missions," Fugaku's voice was becoming sharper. This was more resistance that he'd ever experienced from his son before.

"We want the quality of the Clan that people first recognize to be a prowess in fighting and killing?" Itachi asked pointedly.

"It is clear you do not understand the Clan's standing," Fugaku returned. "Perhaps I need to refresh your memory! The Uchiha are a ninja Clan. This means that our prowess in the ninja arts is our defining feature. We are the Sharingan-wielders, a clan of powerful ninja. This is what we have always been. This is what determines our value."

"Restricting our role to only that of warrior is limiting our potential," Itachi argued. "Why not make ourselves useful to Konoha in other ways? Providing the Village with skilled sensei and establishing ourselves as nurtures of the Village's other talents would turn us into a pillar of Konoha."

"Enough!" snapped Fugaku, making Mikoto flinch. "I will hear no more of your foolishness! Be glad I don't strike you for your insolence."

Privately, Itachi thought that the day his father could land a hit on him would be the day the sun rose in the west. But the intent behind the remark caused Itachi to hold his tongue. His father had been pushed to his limit. If Itachi persisted now, Fugaku might shut him out, and then Itachi would have no chance of persuading the Clan Head away from the coup plan.

…Not that it seemed he had much of a chance now, anyway. Still, a small chance was better than no chance at all.

"Sorry for speaking so frankly, Otou-san," Itachi said flatly, carefully _not _apologizing for what he'd said, only the blunt manner in which he'd said it. Fugaku either didn't notice the phrasing, or he just decided not to take Itachi to task for it.

The Uchiha Clan Head made a curt gesture with one hand, dismissing Itachi. The twenty-two-turned-eleven-year-old bowed shallowly, stood and left the room. He headed toward the small training area on the house's grounds automatically, subconsciously knowing he was going to need some way to blow off some steam.

Sasuke was already there. The six-year-old was practicing his kunai throwing. He was getting better and better; in his handling of the weapons _and_ in his awareness. Sasuke turned as Itachi approached, having either heard or felt his older brother's presence. Sasuke grinned.

"Onii-san!" he greeted. Itachi felt something relax inside him at Sasuke's bright face. He walked right up to his little brother, fell to his knees, and gathered Sasuke to him in a hug. It was something he hadn't done since Sasuke was five, in his other-past; that was about the time that he'd begun distancing himself from his family. Now he found himself unable to refrain from the show of affection. Thankfully, Sasuke was still young enough to allow hugs; though surprised, he hugged Itachi back until the older Uchiha drew back. Sasuke gave him a sort of confused smile and said: "Can you train with me now?"

"Let's go to Training Ground Eleven," Itachi said, wanting abruptly to get off the Compound's grounds. Sasuke nodded, and then bounced a little, grabbing Itachi's arm.

"Can we go the fast way?"

Itachi smiled, and in response, bent slightly and held his arms ready. Sasuke cheered and clambered onto Itachi's back. The Uchiha heir stood and _shunshin_'d away, toward Training Ground Eleven. Sasuke gave a small whoop of glee as they flew through the air, their speed stretching the sound out behind them.

As they neared the training ground, Itachi slowed, his eyebrows lifting. It seemed today was the day for training; Eleven was already occupied by one small chakra signature. It seemed familiar. As they got closer, Itachi realized why, and at the same time, decided to continue to Training Ground Eleven instead of going to find an unoccupied one.

Itachi landed on a branch above the grounds, where he could see the person there. Evidently, she'd taken his words to her about training to heart. At his ear, Sasuke gave a small noise of surprise as he spotted her. Down in the training ground, Haruno Sakura span at the tiny noise, her eyes wide. Itachi dropped from the branch to the ground, showing himself and Sasuke.

"Ah, it looks like this training ground is taken, Sasuke," Itachi said quietly, keeping his voice gentle for the startled girl's sake. Sakura's eyes traced from Itachi's face—there was a flash of recognition there—to Sasuke's—and another flash. Then she flushed a dull red, her eyes dropping to the shuriken in her hands.

"O-oh, um…" she said. "W-well, I think there are a lot of targets here… we could share?"

Itachi smiled thinly; it was the response he'd expected her to give. "Thank you. We'll try to stay out of your way."

Sakura nodded shyly. Itachi turned to Sasuke.

"Here, Sasuke, you've been practicing the _Kawarimi no jutsu_, right? You've gotten it down? Yes? Then I can start showing you how to decrease the amount of noise and smoke produced."

They worked separately but amiably for a while. Once Itachi was done lecturing Sasuke on the methods for maximizing his _Kawarimi_, he stepped back to watch the younger boy attempt it. After watching a couple tries, Itachi switched his gaze to Sakura, standing off to the side in front of a target log. The painted target was studded randomly with shuriken, but the majority of them were on the left side.

"Keep trying, Sasuke," Itachi said, and walked over to the girl.

"Onii-san!" Sasuke protested, behind him. Sakura looked up, and appeared surprised to see Itachi approaching her. She fidgeted slightly. Itachi gestured to the target.

"Your posture is good, but at the release, you're jerking your hand to the side. So the shuriken are tending that way. Pay attention to the follow-through; point to the target where you want the weapon to go. Hold your wrist steady. Understand? Try it," Itachi directed. Sakura listened attentively and then nodded, turning to face the target. She lifted her hand, shuriken ready. Itachi could see how nervous she was. He touched her shoulder lightly. "Relax."

She nodded, and then, drew back and threw. The shuriken thudded into the target near the center ring. Itachi nodded: "Again."

Sakura, her last shot being one of her better, nodded with more enthusiasm. She took up another shuriken. This time, the shuriken went wide. Sakura flushed, embarrassed. Itachi tilted his head as he regarded her. "Take your time. Don't let yourself get over-confident. You will have to work for every shot, at least at first. Try again."

Sakura nodded, took another shuriken, breathed, aimed, drew back… And the bladed weapon thudded into the edge of the bullseye. Excited, wide-eyed, Sakura span to look at Itachi. He nodded. "Good. Keep practicing. The more you practice, the faster it will become habit."

"Okay!" Sakura said. She ran to the target pole and started collecting her shuriken out of and around it. Itachi felt Sasuke tug on his shirt hem.

"Onii-san," the six-year-old said, a slight whine to his voice. Apparently, Sasuke was not happy to have to share his brother with the pink-haired girl. "Watch me."

"A moment, Sasuke," Itachi said, as Sakura trotted up, hands full of shuriken. Sasuke pouted unhappily. Sakura looked at him from around Itachi. Shyly, she asked:

"You're in my class at the Academy aren't you?"

Sasuke scowled at her. "Yeah." He turned to his brother, and without regard for tact, demanded: "Why are you helping her? I'm your brother!"

Itachi gave his brother a look as Sakura frowned and flushed angrily. "Sasuke, when you graduate the Academy, you wish to become a Genin?"

"Yes," Sasuke replied, sounding confused.

"And when you do, you'll be placed on a Genin Team with two other recent-graduates. You'll want them to be skilled, so that your Team is effective. So that you can trust them to watch your back," Itachi told his little brother calmly. "Sakura-san could be placed on your Team. Do you want her to be able to throw shuriken when she is?"

Sasuke was no fool. Even though he was probably tempted to say 'no,' he knew the answer was 'yes.' He delivered it petulantly.

"Apologize to Sakura-san," Itachi ordered, stepping aside to leave the two children facing each other. Sasuke pouted, and Sakura frowned.

_:This is going well,: _Itachi thought wryly. _:But Sasuke needs to learn to value other people. Particularly those he might depend on later.:_

"Sorry," muttered the boy. Sakura crossed her arms.

"You're mean, Sasuke-kun," she said. Her frown was fading. "But I forgive you."

"Hmf," Sasuke huffed. He looked at Itachi. "I think I have the _Kawarimi _down. Will you watch me once?"

"Alright," Itachi replied, turning to Sasuke. "Go ahead."

Sasuke glanced at Sakura. "Onii-san is teaching me to improve my jutsu."

His voice was smug. He went through the handseals for the _Kawarimi _and poofed away, replacing himself with a log. It was a fairly decent attempt; nearing perfection, but there was some work to be done.

"Good," Itachi said blandly. "It's coming along."

"Do you want to try?" Sasuke asked Sakura, who'd also been watching. It was clear from his strident tone that he expected her to accept and fail. But Itachi could see potential in the way her narrowed eyes flickered in calculation.

"Okay," she said. She went through the seals a touch slowly, carefully. Then with minimal smoke and a soft pop, she disappeared and log fell to the ground in her place. "How was that?"

Her voice came from behind them. The two Uchiha boys turned, Sasuke with his mouth open in surprise, slowly turning to anger. Itachi eyed the girl thoughtfully. Ah yes, that was right… The girl had an inherent high level of chakra control. That made doing the optimized jutsu easier. Controlling the chakra tightly helped minimize the smoke and noise of the _Kawarimi no jutsu_.

"Hey!" Sasuke said, expression thunderous. "How'd you do that?"

Sakura blinked at him. "We were taught the _Kawarimi _in class."

"Yeah, but… but…." Sasuke sputtered.

"That was very good, Sakura-san," Itachi interrupted. "You have very good chakra control."

"What does that mean?" she asked curiously. Sasuke also turned to look at Itachi, face set in annoyance and anger at having been showed up in front of his brother… by a _girl._ And one with pink hair, no less.

"It means that you use your chakra very precisely when you do jutsu. It means you don't waste any, and it also means you might be good at medical jutsu when you get older," Itachi replied.

"Medical jutsu? What's that?" Apparently, Sakura was a child with many questions. Itachi smiled.

"It's jutsu that help people when they're hurt."

"Oh," Sakura replied, looking increasingly curious. Knowing what he did of her personality, Itachi figured she'd likely be making a trip to the library later today, to look up some medical jutsu. That was one good thing about teaching children the ninja arts so young—it made them much more mature, usually, than their ages might suggest. Sasuke and Sakura might only be six, but they were advanced for their age in thought and manner. A civilian child of six would be still playing with dolls and toys, while children enrolled in the Academy were practicing with kunai and shuriken.

Of course, that was also one of the disadvantages of teaching them so young. They were more mature, certainly, but that meant they'd only barely experienced childhood before becoming ninja, becoming young weapons. Too soon would they be experiencing death; by killing, or by witnessing a death, or by dying themselves.

But it was necessary. As much as Itachi didn't like the conventions of the ninja world, he could see how they were necessary. He was, himself, trying to mold the two children—Sasuke and Sakura—into better ninja, because even though they were young, they'd be needed. He was slowly nudging Sakura along, steering her away from the path that she'd taken in the other-past, the path of the 'damsel-in-distress', of not taking her profession seriously, of fangirl-ism. With Sasuke it was easier to influence the boy's growth; as Sasuke's older brother, Itachi was expected, to a certain degree, to help and train with the younger boy. Especially now, with Madara loose and actively plotting, with Orochimaru bitter at Konoha and mad with the thought of immortality, with Pein bitter at the world and so powerful with the Rinnegan.

"Onii-san," Sasuke's voice pulled Itachi from his thoughts. He looked down to see Sasuke's pouting face looking up at him. "Teach me chakra control."

"It isn't quite something that can be taught," Itachi told his little brother. Sasuke frowned. "Just like strength. A muscle can't be taught how to be strong, it has to be exercised. I can show you some exercises that can help you build up chakra control."

"But _she _didn't have to exercise," Sasuke muttered, glancing at Sakura, who was listening. She looked mildly uncomfortable at the dark look.

"Sakura-san was fortunate enough to be born with good chakra control. It's a rare gift," Itachi explained. Sakura's face brightened. "Of course, she could also train it to be even better."

Sasuke huffed. "Fine. I want to learn the exercises."

Itachi hid a smile. He was fortunate that, despite their advanced maturity, Sakura and Sasuke were still very impressionable and retained a measure of naivete that made tricking them into working harder easier. Of course, it also helped that Itachi was a genius at reading people and being able to manipulate them into doing what he wished them to do.

After he showed the two younger children the control-building exercises, as he watched them work at it, Itachi allowed himself a brief moment to wonder whether he could have made a good teacher, had that been a path open to him.

Perhaps, when this was all over, he could pursue the career. Provided he was still alive at that time.


	7. Proud Man's Contumely

_TH: Oh hey look! An update! Sorry to say that there won't be one next week, since I'll be on vacation. You'll all have exercise patience and wait two weeks for chapter 8. In the meantime, please enjoy chapter 7, and please please review! Much appreciated._

_NOTES  
_

_Matsudashi is not based on anyone and is not particularly important. Don't read too much into him; he's just a slightly whacked out ex-shinobi. Because, hey, we have equal-opportunity employment and laws and organizations to help handicapped veterans get jobs and support themselves, so why wouldn't Konoha? Matsudashi's a bit insane, but he still has some of the perceptiveness and coherent thought necessary to do his job. And besides, sanity's overrated. :)_

_Tengu are items of Japanese folklore. Magical sort of beings that are kinda human-bird...ish... _

_'Re' 'Hi' and 'Ho' are the romanizations of a couple characters in the Japanese hiragana/katakana alphabet(s). Like English-users might name sections 'A' 'B' and 'C', the Japanese will use their own 'alphabet'.  
_

_On with the show!  
_

* * *

**Perchance to Dream**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter Seven—Proud Man's Contumely

* * *

**

Itachi decided to accept the offer and join ANBU on his own will, before his father and the Clan could push him into it. He didn't particularly want to be in the elite force—it dealt heavily in the more psychologically and emotionally stressing missions, assassinations and so forth, and Itachi had had enough of those to last several lifetimes—but it was a good tactical move for him to join, and join without the influence of his Clan. If he waited and joined after Fugaku 'asked' him to, he would appear to accept the Clan's rule over his life, and Itachi didn't want to send that message. Instead, he wanted to send the message that he could act alone, and perhaps that he felt loyalty to Konoha, enough loyalty that he accepted a position in its Black Ops division without the input of the Clan.

It _was _a concern that he had been invited to take the entrance exam a year early. He wasn't certain why. It could be entirely innocuous: Just by being in this time, Itachi was changing things on the quantum level. Maybe it was just a ripple-effect. Perhaps it was just that a coin toss came up heads this time instead of tails.

Of course it could just as easily be a human machination. Not Sarutobi, and not Fugaku, that was obvious. It didn't make sense for Madara to have engineered this, either. Perhaps Danzo? Yes, that could be it. Danzo would want Itachi in a position where he could influence the young Uchiha, where he could give Itachi missions of ANBU level. Like the one to eliminate the Uchiha Clan.

In any case, whatever the reason, it wasn't the most important factor in Itachi's decision. He felt that joining ANBU now would ultimately help his cause, and so he would. That was all that mattered.

The 'exam' that tested his suitability for ANBU was much the same as he remembered from his other-past. His scores weren't the highest ANBU had ever seen, but they were very respectable, and he was one of the youngest ninja ever accepted into the elite corps, which was an accomplishment in itself. All and all, no one was surprised or disappointed by his performance. After the induction—during which he received the swirling black tattoo of an ANBU operative on his shoulder— he was led to the Supplies Officer in charge of outfitting the ANBU, and told that any item of the uniform that he did not already possess would be supplied to him. Since his tastes already ran to black clothing, he had plenty of shirts and pants, but he did grab an extra pair of black nin-sandals. He was then given a set of the standard grey armor. The Supplies Officer then sent him to the armory, where he was issued an ANBU _ninjato_.

"Identification number?" asked the bored armory worker, inking his brush and quickly scribing Itachi's name on a new line in his ledger. Itachi unsheathed the _ninjato_ enough to read the number stamped onto the base of the blade.

It was discomfiting to hold a _ninjato_ again—after the Massacre, Itachi had refused to even consider touching one… until now. He was just glad that the fates hadn't been cruel enough to give him the same weapon this time around—the identification number of the blade in his hands now was not the same as in the other-past. It helped steady him.

"Seven-seven-zero-one-two," Itachi read off, and the worker's brush followed the words. Then he turned the ledger toward Itachi and said:

"Give a fingerprint on the line, please."

Itachi bit his thumb, smeared the blood onto his pointer, and carefully stamped the appendage onto the paper, leaving a bright red oval beside the line containing his name, the date, and his new _ninjato_'s ID number. The armory worker span the ledger back around and waved Itachi off disinterestedly.

"Alright, that's it. You can go."

Itachi lifted an eyebrow slightly at the dismissive tone. He felt sorry for those who were unfamiliar with the ANBU headquarters and were trying to gather their new gear after induction; the armory worker was no help at all in telling people where to go to next. Good thing this wasn't the first time Itachi had joined the group. He already knew the drill. He walked calmly and assuredly through the headquarters building to his next destination.

The room he walked into was stacked full with masks, not just for the new members but also for replacements—ANBU took Konoha's more dangerous missions, and while they were very skilled in the ninja arts and able to evade even some of the more advanced attacks, broken masks did happen.

The man working there was the same man Itachi remembered from his other-past. Slightly off in the head, an ex-ANBU agent himself, the middle-aged man went by the name of Matsudashi, and referred to himself in the third person consistently. When Itachi entered the mask room, Matsudashi was mumbling to himself something about all the birds flying away, and having to get them all back.

"Excuse me," Itachi said quietly. Matsudashi wheeled around from where he was stacking masks—taking each one from one shelf and carefully and deliberately moving it to another, individually and with great solemnity—and grinned at Itachi. It could be described as friendly… if you ignore the hint of insanity behind it.

"Aha! Hahaha! Yes, yes, Matsudashi knows what you want! Yes he does. Something alone, something fierce. Wolf, wolf, wolf!" Itachi checked his flinch—he had been the Wolf in his other-past, and like with the _ninjato_, the memories attached to the mask were… not positive—but halfway through turning around to snatch a mask off the shelves, Matsudashi froze and turned back to face Itachi. Eyes furrowed, the half-sane man inspected the eleven-year-old closely. Itachi bore the scrutiny, albeit with an internal tension. Matsudashi was mumbling: "No, no… Hm, not wolf? No... Hmmmm."

Matsudashi narrowed his eyes further, rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and then spun around to face the piles of masks. He danced—there was really no other way to describe it—along the shelves, touching this or that stack of masks. Each had a different facial base, canine, feline, avian, ursine… The specifics were unformed; a base could become a tiger or a housecat, a panda or a black bear.

Itachi felt the knot in his chest loosen slightly as Matsudashi released the idea of giving him the Wolf mask. He had been worried, for a moment, that he would have to don it again… But it seemed Matsudashi, though mentally unbalanced, was as perceptive as they said. He was able to detect the past Itachi, the older feelings his spirit held for the image of the Wolf, despite the… oddity of his situation.

"Aaah," Matsudashi said in satisfaction, fingers alighting on a pile that was apparently suitable. He picked the top one up and, holding it up in the air beside Itachi's face, flicked his eyes back and forth between the two. The porcelain mask was blank white—it hadn't been painted, that was the prerogative of the ninja who would wear it—but its snout was pulled into a definitive beak-shape. Hawk, sparrow, rooster… The exact type of bird would be decided by whatever pattern was drawn onto it. Matsudashi exclaimed: "Yes! Yes, yes. Crow. Hm, yes. Dark, intelligent. A crow, a crow…"

_:A crow,: _Itachi thought, amused. _:Of course a crow.:_

Matsudashi was apparently as satisfied with the decision as Itachi, from the way he was muttering as he pulled out a couple small bottles and a thick braided cord.

Itachi was a crow. An intelligent bird, a problem-solver, a dark bird… A bird associated often with death, but also counted as a wise creature. Related to the Tengu, and sometimes used as a symbol for Amaterasu. And there was, of course, Itachi's signature genjutsu, involving the dissolution of his form into a murder of crows.

"Crow," Itachi said, and nodded to Mastudashi as the man approached with a bundle in his hands. The mask was presented to him along with a couple bottles of paint—in several colors—and the strong cord that would hold it to his face. "Thank you, Matsudashi."

"Goodbye, Crow-Not-Wolf," Matsudashi replied cheerfully, before turning away. Itachi heard him talking to himself once more as the new ANBU exited the room: "Now, now. A glass ceiling. Keeps them all in!"

* * *

It didn't take long for Fugaku to catch wind of his son's admittance into the Black Ops; only about thirty-six hours. And once he had, he predictably ordered Itachi to the meeting room. Itachi went, knowing he couldn't avoid this. In any case, he might be able to turn this into another chance at changing his father's mind about the coup. If only by showing him that their precious prodigy wasn't in on the deal.

"I am proud that you made ANBU," Fugaku said stiffly. Itachi reflected that he didn't _sound _particularly proud. More annoyed. "However, I wonder that you did not inform the Clan council, or even me, of your invitation or decision."

"The council would have urged me to take the exam, would they have not?" Itachi asked. "Then I can see no problem with my actions."

It was amusing, Itachi decided, in a morbid sort of way, to rile his father up like this. Fugaku was unused to being opposed by his eldest son, he almost didn't know what to do. Itachi watched his father's face turn an unfortunate puce color. It was somewhat fortunate his mother wasn't present for this particular meeting, this time around—she probably would have been fretting her nerves away at the tension between her husband and son.

"You are a part of this Clan, and you will act like it!" Fugaku snapped. "This is the second time you have acted without the Clan's permission. Such disobedience is unlike you, Itachi."

"I only did what the Clan Elders would have ordered me to do, had they known of the situation. I apologize if preempting their edict has offended them."

Fugaku's eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out whether Itachi was being sarcastic. It was difficult because he'd delivered the lines in his usual calm monotone, and let nothing show on his face. After a beat, Fugaku grunted acceptance of the apology.

"As I said before, your actions reflect upon the Clan, so the Clan does wish to have a say in them. The Elders are not as upset as they would have been had your actions not been in line with their wishes. But you are in ANBU now, and we had hoped for you to be eventually."

_:Yes, I know,: _Itachi thought with a slight mental sneer.

"It is good that there is now an Uchiha in the Hokage's elites," Fugaku continued. He pinned Itachi with a look that was meant to be cowing. Itachi was unaffected. "You realize your position now. You are the pipe connecting the Clan with the Village. Do you understand?"

The words themselves were pretty innocuous. Itachi was a link between the two, all right. But reading behind Fugaku's words revealed the truth. The Uchiha Clan Head wanted information to flow through that pipe, from Konoha to the Uchiha. Itachi was to be a spy.

This was it. This was where Itachi, in the other-past, had encountered his first difficult decision between Village and family. Acquiesce, and allow the Uchiha to believe him theirs? Or stand, and throw a wrench in their works? Itachi inhaled, closing his eyes.

"No," he said softly. Across from him, Fugaku froze.

"What did you say?" the Uchiha Clan Head's voice was low and disbelieving. Itachi's head lifted. He met his father's eyes fearlessly.

"I said no, Father. I am not a pipe connecting the Clan to the Village. You imply that the two are separate entities. I disagree. The Village is the Clan, the Clan is the Village. We are a part of Konoha; there should be no need for anyone to act as a bridge." Itachi stood. "It troubles me that you cannot see that."

With that, the Uchiha heir bowed shallowly, turned, and left, all before Fugaku could collect himself from his shock at being denied outright by his son.

Itachi walked sedately to the outer porch of the house, and from there, _shunshin_'d off the Compound in a couple of bounds. He stopped once he was enclosed by the thick-canopied trees of one of Konoha's many parks, and leaned heavily against a nearby trunk, trembling slightly.

It was becoming even more difficult to contain his emotions around his father. In the other-past, he'd lost it, once—lost his composure. He'd shown his anger and frustration to Fugaku and a group of other Uchiha. The only thing that had reined him back in had been Sasuke's frightened voice. But now, in this time, living these years over again, knowing what could happen, knowing the disaster Fugaku was leading the Clan into… Itachi was beyond simple anger.

The twenty-two-turned-eleven-year-old took a couple deep, calming breaths. Losing it now would only set him back. Itachi sighed and tilted his head back, staring through the gaps in the foliage above him. The sky was a delicate, pure blue, free of clouds. Almost peaceful. Itachi closed his eyes.

* * *

Sunset found Itachi seated at an open-air tea shop, staring into the last dregs of a pale _gyokuro_. After collecting himself after his… meeting… with his father, Itachi had merely wandered around Konoha. He'd ended up at the tea shop, spent the rest of his afternoon there, quietly watching the people who passed the shop and enjoying his tea.

It was about time for him to return to the Uchiha compound, but he was postponing it as much as he could, not particularly looking forward to the tension that dinner would undoubtedly be fraught with. His father would have, by now, collected himself enough to be disappointed and angry with his eldest son. And if Fugaku was willing to show any emotion, it was disapproval.

It was a weakness, but Itachi allowed himself it, if only for a moment. Then he gripped his tea cup to drain the last bit.

"Yo," said a voice behind him. Itachi didn't finch, having sensed the presence of the man before he'd spoken. Itachi swallowed his sip of tea, and turned to look at the older man.

"Kakashi-sempai," he greeted. The grey-haired shinobi was standing at his elbow, hands in his pockets, back curved in a slouch.

"Itachi-san," Kakashi replied. "Congratulations."

He was obviously referring to making ANBU.

"Thank you," Itachi replied. "I hope my presence benefits the corps."

Kakashi nodded, and said: "You've been assign to my Team. We're meeting tomorrow at 0800 hours at Training Ground Zero."

Zero was the training ground dedicated to the use of the ANBU. In truth, it was a large swath of forest that was at the edge of the wall that enclosed Konoha, not one single training ground. It was subdivided into many actual training areas. Kakashi was probably trying to catch Itachi by omitting that fact; not all newcomers to the Black Ops were aware of what Training Ground Zero was. It was common 'initiation' joke to play; many Team leaders did it. That didn't mean Itachi was going to fall for it, though.

"Which area?" he asked calmly. "Zero-Ho, Zero-Hi?"

Kakashi's visible eye crinkled with good humor. Itachi could tell he was pleased by his new recruit's perceptiveness. "Caught me. Zero-Re."

"Zero-Re 0800 hours tomorrow," Itachi repeated. "Understood."

He stood and bowed slightly to his captain, and said: "If you'll excuse me, my family will be expecting me home."

Kakashi nodded easily, and Itachi turned and walked away. He could feel Kakashi's contemplative gaze on his back the whole way.

* * *

Itachi's prediction about dinner was proven correct. He did his level best to eat calmly under the glare of Fugaku. His mother flicked concerned glances between the two, not quite aware of where the tension originated, but feeling it all the same. Sasuke also seemed to sense the charged atmosphere, because he was noticeably quieter, not excitedly telling his big brother about what they'd learned at the Academy that day, and not asking if Itachi could play and/or train after dinner. Half of Itachi was glad for it; he knew Sasuke's cheerful babble would have drawn their father's attention to the younger boy, and with Fugaku's mood, nothing good would have come of it. But half of Itachi was uncomfortable with Sasuke's careful silence. The younger boy's childish enthusiasm, his _life_, was squashed by the oppressive silence, and Itachi did not like the pale doll his brother had become with that.

Itachi finished quickly and excused himself from the table to go to his room and look over one of the jutsu scrolls he kept on his bookshelves. Once he heard the rest of his family finish and his father shut himself away in his study to go over the _Keimu Butai _reports for the day, Itachi went back to the kitchen, where his mother was cleaning up.

"Itachi?" Mikoto said inquiringly, as he paused in the door. He paced forward until he stood beside her.

"I have applied to and been accepted into the ANBU," he told her without preamble. Her face went blank for a moment, and then her eyes narrowed.

"I see," she said, voice suddenly chilly. Itachi knew what she was thinking. He shook his head, and she paused in the act of turning away.

"I decided this without consulting the Clan," he told her. He added, a little wryly, "They were not pleased by my taking the initiative."

Mikoto's dark, intelligent eyes flashed across her son's face, and she asked slowly: "Then, why…?"

"My joining the Hokage's elite guard without discussing it with the Clan elders was meant to send them a message," Itachi murmured. He didn't think his father could hear from his study, but better safe than sorry. "Also, it gave me the clearance I needed."

"Needed for what?" Mikoto asked, seizing onto that statement shrewdly. Itachi looked at her.

"For keeping us all safe," he replied.


	8. AN: Don't Worry

_**Author's Note. **_(yes, I'm back from vacation)_**  
**_

PLEASE READ THOROUGHLY

_First of all, **relax**. I'm not abandoning this story. This note is purely to set straight some things. I'm sorry to have to resort to doing this in an 'author's note' chapter, but I know that people don't always read the ANs at the start of chapters, and I didn't want to chance this getting lost in the excitement of a new real chapter.  
_

_Okay. To begin: "Perchance to Dream" has been added to a lot of C2s. **I am flattered by this**, and appreciate the show of support. However, among these C2s have been a couple that are for Naruto-centric stories. This is causing/has caused some confusion. I want to **clear this confusion up** as well as I can. So. This fic is **Itachi-centric**. It is about Uchiha Itachi, first and foremost. It is about how he has been brought back in time accidentally, and, upon finding himself presented with the golden opportunity of a second chance, goes about trying to mold a better future than the one he had lived through. _

_I find it a little disturbing, then, when I get reviews that say nothing about the story as it is and only ask where Naruto is, because it means that **you are missing what the story is about**. I have nothing against Naruto, but he is not a primary concern in this fic. Itachi does want to bring together Team Seven early and help them form a tight, efficient Team, but he is **far too concerned with Madara** right now to try to bring Naruto into the fold. It was by chance that he came across Sakura. Yes, I know that that 'chance' was a device I used as an author, but that doesn't mean it's okay to also bring in Naruto in the same way. I don't want to clutter up the main story of the Itachi-Madara-Clan conflict with too many side vignettes. Plus, it would be lame to just let everything fall into place. "What, Itachi wants to train Team Seven to be a real Team? Oh, and he suddenly brings them all together, while simultaneously juggling his problems of ANBU induction, Madara, and his Clan. How convenient!" No. I'm straining the bounds of what one person is capable of as it is. Not everything is going to work out all pretty._

_Why Sakura and not Naruto? Sakura was added because I hated how useless she was in the beginning of the manga, and wanted to give her the chance to not become a pathetic, shallow fangirl. Naruto doesn't really need as much help, since he's always been more capable (if a little clueless). I also feel like Naruto would resist more. He is a little hellion at this point, remember, and probably would react to the strangeness of someone actually helping him with a defensive refusal to cooperate. I didn't want to add that strife to the story. Itachi doesn't have time to hunt down Naruto, somehow persuade the 6-year-old to trust him and train with him, and mediate the inevitable scuffles that erupt between Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto when they do train together. Itachi has his hands full as it is.  
_

_I have already mostly written this story, and I can say that **Naruto is not in it**, not really. He is mentioned, but he does not make an appearance. Sorry to all the Naruto-fans, and please don't blame me. I don't choose which C2s this goes into, and can't control it if someone adds it to a Naruto-centric community. I hope you can overlook the lack of small, hyper-active blonds and enjoy "Perchance to Dream" for its own sake._

_I hope this has all made sense.  
_

_Thank you for your attention, and look for the REAL chapter update on Monday. Until then, I leave you with a small teaser.

* * *

_

* * *

Itachi opened with a volley of _Katon _jutsu, spraying fireballs in a wide swath around him. Kakashi responded with a _Fuuton _that was strong enough not only to counter the fire, but to sweep it in a maelstrom and direct it back toward Itachi. Who smirked at the idea of setting a _Katon _against an Uchiha. The Clan had its basis in fire-element techniques. An Uchiha who was taken out by a _Katon _would be shamed indeed...

...He threw a genjutsu over Kakashi. The older shinobi paused a brief second before dispelling it. Itachi took that as a point of pride; since Kakashi was not only a highly skilled shinobi, possibly Hokage level, he also had a Sharingan of his own, which helped him overcome genjutsu. That Kakashi had had to take even a second to release Itachi's genjutsu was a testament to Itachi's ability. It hadn't even been his most powerful genjutsu.

Kakashi used a general-area ninjutsu to keep Itachi away from him while he recovered his equilibrium, which only took the space of a breath. The Copy Ninja lifted his _hitai-ate _away from his left eye. The ante had just been upped. Itachi blinked his own Sharingan active. Then the two were moving again, at speed.


	9. Mortal Coil

_TH: My clock reads 12:03am on Monday, August 2. So let's let the new chapter begin! Thanks so much, everyone, for your continued support._

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**Perchance to Dream

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**

**Chapter Eight— Mortal Coil**

Running felt like life. To run and feel the ground fly under one's feet, to run and feel the heat of exertion prickle across one's brow. To run and feel the deep expansion of one's lungs, free of the constraint of disease. Itachi hadn't realized how delicious a feeling that was, until he'd suddenly had it returned to him. It had been years since he'd been able to run like that.

His eleven-year-old body was, in some ways, more fit than his twenty-two-year-old body had been. Not blind, not diseased. But less muscle-mass, and some less chakra. That was fine, though. He had gotten used to his limitations in the past couple weeks, training himself in secret to move comfortably in his younger body again.

In front of him, Kakashi, who had been leading the warm-up run, slowed to a stop. They'd done a circuit around Konoha, and were back at Training Ground Zero-Re, where they'd started. Their two other Teammates (one Hijikata Yousuke and an Aburame Clan lesser member) were right beside them; in ANBU, you kept up with your Captain, or you washed out.

That being said, Itachi felt as if Kakashi had pulled back his usual pace in this run. It was not a misplaced concession to Itachi's youthfulness, but rather a mercy on Aburame Soushiro, a youngish man who'd been severely injured and had had surgery a scant two weeks ago. Chakra healing had brought him to this point, when he could train without much danger of relapse, but Kakashi was the kind of Teamleader who watched out for his Team and didn't run them needlessly ragged. Since they'd just gotten a new Teammate—Itachi—they would not be deployed for two weeks; the time was given to any Team like that so that the new member could be incorporated into the team dynamic before they were thrust into a combat situation. Kakashi knew this, and so wasn't in a hurry to push his Team to perfection.

Kakashi was likely to step up the intensity of their training every day until they were pushing their limits, Itachi thought, which was a rather good regimen. It gave the injured member time to heal, and the Team to get used to Itachi and Itachi to get used to the Team. It also decreased the chances of training-related injury, compared to if they just jumped into the most intense training without preparation.

In all, Itachi found that his other-past analysis of Hatake Kakashi was held up by this new timeline; the ANBU Captain was efficient, intelligent, a skilled leader. For Itachi, who had spent the last nine or so years of his life working with S-class _nukenin_, it was liberating to have a Team he knew he could trust at his back.

Kakashi set the other two Teammembers against each other for some light sparring, and turned to Itachi.

"I want to run you through some drills," said the grey-haired shinobi. "I was there for your entrance exam, but I'd like to test you a little myself."

It wasn't surprising that he'd seen Itachi's ANBU entrance exam; all the Team Captains were present at the exams, excepting those out on missions. They were the judges, along with the Hokage. So Itachi didn't so much as blink at the statement. He merely replied: "Understood. What would you like me to do?"

Kakashi's lone visible eye creased in his exaggerated smile. "Well, I'd like to spar you."

Itachi lifted one eyebrow. "Yes, sir."

They both shifted imperceptibly into ready stances. Kakashi said: "Are you prepared?"

Itachi nodded.

"Then, begin."

They moved at the same time, immediately. Itachi opened with a volley of _Katon _jutsu, spraying fireballs in a wide swath around him. Kakashi responded with a _Fuuton _that was strong enough not only to counter the fire, but to sweep it in a maelstrom and direct it back toward Itachi, who smirked at the idea of setting a _Katon _against an Uchiha. The Clan had its basis in fire-element techniques. An Uchiha who was taken out by a _Katon _would be shamed indeed.

He flash-stepped out of the way, made a _bunshin_, and attacked Kakashi in a pincer move. Kakashi responded by dispersing the _bunshin _with a well-placed shuriken, and engaging the real Itachi in a flurry of taijutsu. It was clear what Kakashi intended to do over the course of the match—he wanted to get an idea of Itachi's proficiency in all levels of learning. Ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu…

Well, Itachi would oblige him.

He threw a genjutsu over Kakashi. The older shinobi paused a brief second before dispelling it. Itachi took that as a point of pride; since Kakashi was not only a highly skilled shinobi, possibly Hokage level, he also had a Sharingan of his own, which helped him overcome genjutsu. That Kakashi had had to take even a second to release Itachi's genjutsu was a testament to Itachi's ability. It hadn't even been his most powerful genjutsu.

Kakashi used a general-area ninjutsu to keep Itachi away from him while he recovered his equilibrium, which only took the space of a breath. The Copy Ninja lifted his _hitai-ate _away from his left eye. The ante had just been upped. Itachi blinked his own Sharingan active. Then the two were moving again, at speed.

A barrage of kunai sang through the air between them, but most ended up stuck in the ground or nearby trees—both Kakashi and Itachi were fast and agile enough to dodge the majority, and they both used a reserved kunai in their hand to knock any errant ones away from their bodies. Itachi returned his kunai to his pouch so fast it seemed to vanish from his hand, and used a _Suiton _to send a gout of water roaring towards his opponent. Kakashi braced himself against the attack, his hands moving in a blur to complete his own jutsu before the water overtook him. He apparently succeeded, because the water swept away to reveal a log in the place where Kakashi had been.

Itachi turned just in time to parry the punch, and quickly swept his foot around to catch the sidekick that followed. A flurry of rapid movement, and each of them had the other in a half-hold. They froze in that position—neither had the upper hand, neither was quite in a full hold, and neither wanted to risk a disadvantage by shifting first.

The ironic part of Itachi's mind noted how familiar the situation was. That other time, it hadn't _quite _been Itachi fighting Kakashi. But once the body-double jutsu had been dispelled, he had received the memory of the battle. Itachi hated the memory. Not just the having to fight people he had still, in his heart, considered allies and comrades, but also the body-double jutsu itself. He'd hated using that Sand-nin, no matter how treacherous or vile the man had been, as a puppet, giving him Itachi's own appearance and abilities and sending him off to die. Itachi _had_ known the body-double would die, and no matter how much he'd told himself that the Sand-nin—what was his name? Itachi should at least remember the man's name, considering Itachi had used and killed him. Oh yes, Yuura—had been scum and a danger to Konoha as well as his own Suna, Itachi had still felt the guilt of so callously throwing his life away.

Presently, Itachi broke from Kakashi, and shot backwards with a controlled chakra-powered leap. His hands moved, and he breathed out a massive fireball toward Kakashi. Kakashi didn't even bother trying to counter it, he just _shunshin_'d away from the blast area. Itachi made two _bunshin_, hidden in the smoke of his attack. He _henge_'d one into a kunai, and along with the other, broke from the hazy cover to charge Kakashi.

He threw a couple normal kunai before throwing the _bunshin_-kunai; Kakashi dodged and parried them, and knocked the _bunshin_-kunai off target so that it span into the air behind him. Just as it reached the pinnacle of its arc and began to fall, it poofed back into its human _bunshin _form, and lashed a kick out toward Kakashi. Having either heard or seen it, Kakashi turned and grabbed the clone's ankle, whipping it around and releasing it so the _bunshin _flew through the air back toward Itachi. For a brief moment, Itachi was obscured from Kakashi's sight by the _bunshin_'s body; he took the opportunity to close the distance between them. He dispelled the clone before it hit him, and came face-to-face with Kakashi.

Their taijutsu was at Sharingan-speed. Kakashi had the advantage of size and physical strength, but Itachi was more agile, and his smaller stature afforded him other advantages. He interspersed his kicks and punches with occasional genjutsu, trying to get Kakashi to trip up, but the older shinobi was fully on guard, and was able to disperse most of them quickly. Itachi could have ended the fight easily, using his Mangekyo, but of course he didn't. There was no reason to, and many reasons not to. It would damage him, physically, for one. And no one knew yet that he had the Mangekyo. For now it was his ace-in-the-hole, and he wanted to keep it that way.

The spar ended in Kakashi's advantage; eventually, his greater size and strength overwhelmed Itachi's eleven-year-old self and he had to cede the victory to Kakashi. There was a breath of stillness after Itachi surrendered, and then Kakashi's face lifted in a smile. The older shinobi straightened from his stance and tugged his _hitai-ate _back into position. Itachi straightened as well.

"You're skills are generally well-balanced," Kakashi said, "though your power is on the low-side. Of course, this may just be on account of your age…"

Itachi bowed slightly in acceptance of the analysis.

"But you lost focus there in the middle," Kakashi said, his voice losing its vague, thoughtful tone and sharpening. Itachi paused.

_:Stupid,: _he berated himself. Kakashi had been using his Sharingan at that point, when Itachi was hit with memories of the other-past. No matter how small or subtle Itachi's reaction to those memories had been, the Sharingan would have picked up on them.

"I apologize," Itachi said, but didn't offer any explanation. Kakashi 'hm'd and eyed him, but didn't press the issue. All he said was:

"I trust it won't happen again."

"Of course, sir," Itachi replied. Kakash nodded, then turned to the other two Teammembers and called them in. They broke off their own spar, and made their way toward Itachi and Kakashi. Once everyone had gathered, Kakashi had them all start in on some exercises meant to increase endurance and strength.

It was mid-afternoon when their training session was over. Itachi could feel the comfortable ache of a good workout in his muscles, and the hum of endorphins in his body. It was good to be able to do this, to enjoy this aspect of being a ninja, again. He stretched thoroughly in a cool-down after Kakashi had dismissed them; the others did some stretching and cool-down exercises on their own as well.

"Itachi-san," Kakashi said, just as he was beginning to leave. The others had already gone. Itachi turned back around to face his Captain, and waited for Kakashi to speak. He didn't have to wait long. "The Hokage has informed me of your situation."

For a moment, Itachi was speechless. Then he got wary. And annoyed. Eyes narrowed, he said: "What do you mean?"

"I was informed of what you'd revealed to the Hokage, Ibiki, and Inoichi," Kakashi said. He watched Itachi's reaction and added: "You are not happy with this."

"I had wished to keep this information strictly on a need-to-know basis, and that then only at my discretion," Itachi replied, brow creased. "The Hokage is not as… informed as I am in this matter. I had wished to oversee who would be told."

"Am I not trustworthy?" Kakashi lifted an eyebrow. Itachi shook his head.

"You're fine," Itachi said dismissively, "but that is not the problem, and you know it."

"With the Hokage making decisions on who to tell without consulting with you first, he is running a risk," Kakashi acknowledged. And at Itachi's look, added: "I happen to agree with you, not that I could tell the Hokage that."

"Hm," Itachi said.

"Anyway, that was not the reason why I brought it up," Kakashi said. "During the spar, when you were distracted for that second. It was because you were remembering something from _then_, wasn't it?"

Itachi blinked. He knew he shouldn't be surprised by Kakashi's perceptiveness; he'd always been a particularly sharp-minded shinobi. But Itachi just wasn't expecting him to so easily, so quickly, come to that conclusion. "…Yes. It was."

Kakashi nodded, his visible grey eye fixing on Itachi's face. "Be careful."

Itachi blinked again and tilted his head questioningly. Kakashi continued: "You're in a unique position, here and now. You don't have to resign yourself to regretting what you've done, because you haven't _done_ it yet. Yes, you need to be aware of what you might do, what you could have done, but you can't let the memories of your other life get in the way like they did today. Somebody might take advantage of that."

"Yes," Itachi said, fully aware of it. "I understand."

Kakashi nodded, and Itachi turned to move away. He paused and then said over his shoulder, "I much prefer sparring to true combat with you, Kakashi-sempai."

He felt a small spike of surprise from the older shinobi, but didn't stop, and Kakashi didn't call him back.

* * *

Itachi went straight to the Hokage Tower, and requested a meeting with the Hokage. Sarutobi wasn't in a meeting at the moment, so his secretary went in to check if he had the time and inclination to see Itachi. After a brief moment, the secretary came out and bowed Itachi into the Hokage's office.

Sarutobi sat at his desk with the ubiquitous pipe clenched in his teeth. He looked up as the Uchiha heir came into the room, his expression not showing any surprise at Itachi's presence.

"I imagine this will have something to do with what I told Kakashi-kun, Itachi-kun?" Sarutobi asked calmly, taking the pipe from his mouth. Itachi nodded, and the Hokage made a gesture and the ANBU in the room left, as last time. Itachi waited until they were completely gone.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," he replied then, coolly.

"I imagine you take exception to the fact that I made the choice without your input?"

"Yes, sir."

Sarutobi nodded, putting the pipe back to his lips. "I know you might have wished to keep control of the information yourself, but it slows things down if we must consult every time we need to tell someone. Hatake Kakashi will be working closely with you from now on, so it is necessary that he know; there may be situations that you might need to stray outside the realms of normal ANBU-recruit action, and having a Captain who knows the truth will serve you well. I made the executive decision to tell him."

He looked at Itachi's face and said: "There's no call to worry; I will not tell anyone else, at least not without speaking with you first. Kakashi, however, I felt was reliable enough that discussion was unnecessary."

Itachi exhaled a tiny relieved sigh. The Hokage quirked an eyebrow. "Come now, did you truly believe I would be so foolish as to think I knew better than you in this case?"

"I'm sorry, sir," Itachi said quietly. "It has been a long time since I've had the luxury of trusting anybody. I'm afraid I may be out of practice."

It was the Hokage's turn to sigh. "Yes, I can understand why that may be. I won't apologize for telling Kakashi-kun of your situation. However, I will assure you that I will not tell anybody else without first discussing the matter with you."

"I appreciate that," Itachi said, bowing. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi shook his head, "Don't thank me for something like this. A Hokage's duty is to protect his people; your knowledge and actions are helping me do so."

"As is a shinobi's duty to his Hokage," Itachi pointed out. Sarutobi smiled wryly.

"Well then, we will both do away with unnecessary thanks," he said. The corner of Itachi's mouth twitched. He bowed again.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Very much reassured, Itachi left the Hokage Tower to return to the Uchiha Compound. By this time, it was nearing dinner. Knowing that he did not have any missions, his parents would be expecting him, so he went straight home.

Home was just as chilly as the night before; his father was making his displeasure known to the whole family. But Itachi was hardly going to cave in at his father's glowering stare, or his low, angry grumbling. So Itachi calmly endured it, easily affecting a mien of complete apathy. He was glad, however, that Sasuke was gone until the next day; the boy was on a field trip with his Academy class in the forest right outside Konoha, to learn wilderness survival. He wasn't home to suffer the unhappy ambiance of the Uchiha Main House.

Mikoto tried in subtle ways to lighten the mood between her husband and eldest son, but nothing worked. And for all his serene façade, Itachi was worried by his father's unwillingness to turn from his destructive course of action. What if Fugaku pushed the Coup through, despite all the progress Itachi had made with the rest of the Clan? The thought made Itachi's stomach roil unpleasantly. But he didn't want to dismiss himself early from dinner, as his father would likely take that as a sign that he was weakening under the weight of Fugaku's disapproval. So Itachi ate as normal. The food, though good, fine cooking, combined with his worry and weighed heavy in Itachi's stomach as he prepared for bed.


	10. Currents Turn Awry

_TH: Lookie lookie, a new chapter! Nothing much to say except please read and review! Muchas gracias, mis amigos.  
_

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**Perchance to Dream

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**Chapter Nine—Currents Turn Awry

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**

Itachi woke, once more, suddenly in the night. He knew right away the reason. Madara was back, and he wanted to talk to Itachi. The young Uchiha heir stood, slid some weapons into hidden pockets in his pyjamas, and went out to meet the older Clan member. Madara was in the same spot as he'd been last time; the moon reflected red from the eyehole through which Madara watched the world with his Sharingan.

"Madara-san," Itachi greeted with carefully cultivated deference. The masked head tilted slightly.

"Itachi-kun," Madara said, and Itachi felt a prickle of nervousness at the tone. "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?" Itachi asked, keeping his voice level. It seemed Madara would continue his general show of over-bearing arrogance; he clearly wasn't here for Itachi's answer on whether he would side with Madara or not. Madara had already assumed the answer would be yes. Well, at least it freed Itachi from the risk of lying to Madara and getting caught.

"You are pulling away from the Clan, fragmenting it. This can't be allowed to happen; if the Clan is seen as conflicted and unhappy within itself, the Village will not view it with any form of trust or respect," Madara said. Itachi imagined that he was less concerned with what the villagers thought and more about how the fragmentation would weaken any potential coup. "Itachi-kun, you need to stop subverting your father. He is the Clan Head, and the Clan looks to him for leadership. Your challenging him damages that."

Here it was. A sign that Madara had his claws firmly embedded in Fugaku. Itachi felt his stomach roil. Damn! That would explain why it was so difficult to argue with his father; the man was being manipulated by Madara. Fugaku's mind was Madara's.

But Itachi was more worried at the present about how to come out of this meeting alive and unharmed. He could reveal his true loyalty to Konoha, or he could continue the charade. Revealing himself would lead to a fight between him and Madara, which wasn't an attractive prospect at the moment. When Itachi faced off with Madara, he wanted it to be more on his terms, and not in his pyjamas with what few weapons he could hide on his person.

Itachi curled his hands into fists, pulling his arms into his sleeves so the cuffs shadowed his hands. The very picture of a child trying to hide his anger and annoyance. He said, putting a subtle waver in his voice, "My father is _weak_."

He let his Sharingan activate, and snapped his head up to look at Madara. "My father is weak and foolish! I am more qualified to be Clan Head. Why should they follow him, when I could be so much greater…"

Itachi could practically see the dark amusement rise in Madara's masked face at his words. "They look at me, and see what I can do, how powerful I am… and they think 'how great Fugaku-sama is, that his son is such a genius!' He is _nothing_. My power is my own, not his! You said it yourself: I am stronger than my father!"

There was no reason for Madara to doubt this motivation; power-lust was a language he understood, and one he believed the most in. However much he knew Itachi to be a pacifist, Madara believed to the depths of his heart that the desire for power was one thing nobody was immune to. That this 'younger version' of Itachi was expressing the desire to be in control of the Clan instead of Fugaku wouldn't make him suspicious. He expected to find power-lust in everybody, so it wouldn't surprise him when he did. Indeed, he seemed to accept Itachi's words completely.

"The Clan is more willing to follow someone older; people don't like to be subordinate to others younger than they. Surely you've seen this in your quick ascension in the ninja ranks," Madara said, with only the slightest flavoring of condescension. "So let your father lead them for a while longer, until you are old enough to take the position without dissention."

What he really meant was until he could manufacture Itachi's death and put another puppet into the Clan Head position. There was no way Madara would allow Itachi into a position of such power; Itachi wasn't as easily controlled as others, and might make Madara's behind-the-scenes leadership difficult.

"Very well," Itachi said grudgingly, after a suitable pause. Madara's smirk was almost audible.

"Good, Itachi-kun. If all of the Clan works together, we will soon bring about a peaceful world, where the Uchiha are not looked down upon," the older Uchiha said.

"I look forward to that," Itachi responded. It wasn't a lie, though his idea of a peaceful world was probably not the same as Madara's.

"Listen to your father, Itachi-kun," Madara said in farewell. He vanished, leaving Itachi standing in his backyard in his pyjamas. The twenty-two-turned-eleven-year-old sneered, and went back into the house.

* * *

Itachi knew he needed to inform the Hokage that Madara had infiltrated the village once again, and of what the Uchiha _nukenin _had said. But immediately after Itachi had awoken, he received a missive, unmarked and sealed with chakra. He frowned at it as he opened it, and once he read it, the frown deepened. He had best nip _this _in the bud.

He went to the location specified in the message. With liberal application of _shunshin no jutsu_, he arrived quickly. Those on guard must have had orders to let him in, because no questions were asked as he was led inside. They led him to a small room, furnished only with a single chair opposite the door. It was a familiar room to Itachi. He had been in it before, in the other-past. It had been where he'd received the order to kill his clan.

Itachi buried his feelings deeply, and stepped into the middle of the room. He kept his eyes trained on the figure seated in the chair, though he remained intensely aware of the five hidden ninja about the room.

"Danzo-sama," Itachi murmured respectfully. It may have been false respect, but Danzo would not be able to tell the difference. And Itachi was aware of how men such as he responded favorably to respect.

"Uchiha Itachi," Danzo said. "Do you know why you are here?"

The question was unnecessary. It was merely an attempt to unbalance Itachi and give Danzo the certainty of the upper-hand in the conversation. Itachi allowed himself a small mental smirk. He had never liked Danzo, even though the man was (or tried to be) a loyal Konoha shinobi. Danzo's attempts to act 'for the good of the Village' were, more often than not, borderline immoral, and occasionally treasonous. He didn't wish ill on Konoha, certainly, but his vision of what Konoha should be was very different than most. He was underhanded, militant, used his subordinates like pawns, and played power games much like the one he'd just started with Itachi.

So Itachi didn't feel too bad for deciding to spike the ball Danzo had just tossed him right back at the Elder's face. Meeting Danzo's gaze, he replied: "I would guess that it has something to do with the fact that the Uchiha are unstable."

Itachi had to give credit to Danzo; the man didn't even blink as Itachi stole his thunder with that blasé statement. But the Elder's momentary silence after it was telling. Itachi waited patiently as Danzo recalibrated and thought of what to say next.

"You are aware of the whispers of a coup d'etat, then?" Danzo asked finally, tone smoothly insinuating.

"I am," Itachi responded calmly, not rising to the provocation. Danzo waited for him to continue, but Itachi let the silence stretch. Finally, Danzo was forced to break it.

"Konoha does not suffer traitors." It was said with the hidden threat that, were Itachi a traitor, he would not make it out of the room alive. The presence of the Root agents became slightly more defined.

Itachi tilted his head just _so_, communicating so subtly his contempt for the threat that Danzo could not take offense without losing ground to him. Itachi said: "The Hokage is aware of the situation and, with him, I am addressing the problem."

Danzo's visible eyebrow quirked. "And this is supposed to be reassuring?"

"The Hokage knows that I am loyal to the Village, though my Clan might believe differently. There is no question where I stand."

Danzo settled back in his chair. _:He has established what he wanted to, and now he will cut to the heart of why he called me here,: _Itachi noted.

"Then you will understand when I tell you that we must have a fail-safe in place to ensure the Uchiha Clan does not bring Konoha down," Danzo said. He paused slightly for Itachi to remark upon this, and when the Uchiha heir did not, continued smoothly: "Since you are a loyal Konoha shinobi, and ANBU ranked, you have been placed aside for a possible mission of proactive defense."

Another pause, and another silence from Itachi. _:Stop dancing around the matter, and say it, old man,: _he thought sharply, knowing what was coming. _:Say it!:_

Danzo did.

"A possible mission to take out the Uchiha Clan before it can pull its coup." Danzo watched Itachi carefully, and Itachi carefully shielded his disgust and anger from his expression. Again. Again the 'solution' Danzo reached was for murder. To force Itachi to familicide.

"That will hardly be necessary," Itachi said. Danzo's face pinched in an expression of annoyance and anger.

"If the Clan rises up against the Village, war will follow. Konoha will be crippled. _If _you are as loyal as you say, you know that it can't be allowed to happen," Root's leader said, voice chilly. Itachi lifted his chin slightly.

"Your plan would call for the deaths of all clanmembers, even those innocent of treason. Not all Uchiha are supporters of the coup; I am proof of that," Itachi told Danzo. "The Hokage's actions and my own will not fail; there is no need for your 'proactive defense.'"

"You're still a child," Danzo said, clearly dismissive, "so it's understandable that you believe just saying a thing will make it true. However, the truth is your actions might—"

"I don't think you understood me," Itachi broke in. "_I will not fail_."

As he spoke, he let his Sharingan flicker, and knew by the way the man suddenly—though subtly—tensed that Danzo had seen the crimson ripple briefly across the dark slate of his eyes.

"It may be that some of the Clan are irremediable. However, as members of a ninja clan, they are under the jurisdiction of the Hokage. Whether they live or die is his decision. And as a loyal Leaf shinobi, I will follow his orders, be they to arrest my kinsmen or kill them," Itachi continued. "_Your _orders, however, I am not compelled to follow. ANBU are the Hokage's elite forces. Not your playthings."

Danzo was a different creature than the Hokage, Madara, or Fugaku. Itachi could address him in a different manner than the others; the manner he seemed to have decided on was one of cool contempt, unhidden. It might cause problems for Itachi later, but right now, he couldn't bring himself to care much. His primary concern now was to prevent the coup and the massacre. Danzo wasn't going to foul things up this time.

Danzo's face showed a shadow of outrage, but the old man hid most of it. Perhaps briefly he also considered setting the Root agents on Itachi in anger, but wisely held off.

Itachi let his dark, steady stare bore into Danzo for a time, while the older man glared back. At last, Danzo said, bitingly: "Hope that you are right, Uchiha Itachi. But know also that you are not the only one who could carry out my plan."

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Should you attack the Clan before any actual treasonous move is made, I will take it as an attack on Konoha itself, and will move to defend the Village."

Danzo's lip twitched as if he wanted to sneer. "And you claim to be loyal?"

"I am loyal," Itachi returned. "I am loyal to the heart of Konoha, and her Hokage, past and present. Are you?"

With that, Itachi turned and stalked out of the room and the building. They did not quite dare to stop him.

* * *

The Hokage was in a meeting with an ambassador from Nami no Kuni by the time Itachi made it to the Tower. Scowling mentally, he gave in to circumstance and went to ANBU's Training Ground Zero to meet his Team for the day's workout.

"We're working on jutsu accuracy today," Kakashi told them when they'd all arrived. "I've requisitioned a few of ANBU's special targets for the exercise. If you have an element affinity, work on those jutsu against the correct target. We don't want to waste time replacing targets every time you score a hit."

The special targets were warded against specific elemental attacks. The water one could withstand strong water jutsu, the fire one fire jutsu, and so on. It was more efficient for ninja of ANBU caliber to use such targets, since if they practiced against normal targets, the targets would break far too frequently.

Itachi had been doing _Katon_ jutsu since he could walk, essentially, and so was already highly skilled and accurate with them. His _Suiton_, however, needed more work, so he set up the water target and began. If he happened to go at it with a particular ferocity, his Teammates tactfully withheld comment.

The rest of the training session progressed without incident. Itachi cooled down as usual and headed out of Training Ground Zero. As he passed the boundary, he became aware that one of the ANBU who guarded the area—to ensure no one could wander into ANBU's personal training ground who wasn't meant to be there—had broken cover and was standing openly at the edge of the grounds. There was somebody standing with him.

Itachi could tell his little brother was nervous and impatient, and trying to hide it, wanting to impress the elite ninja who waited with him. But the truth came out in the way the younger Uchiha fidgeted with the cuffs of his sleeves, and stared at the trees hemming Training Ground Zero. Itachi landed by them, nodding to the ANBU, who nodded back once and vanished back to his hidden post. Sasuke ran toward Itachi, stopping himself by grabbing fistfuls of his older brother's pants.

"Sasuke? What are you doing here? Were you waiting for me long?"

Sasuke shook his head, and peered up at Itachi, a sort of worried look on his round child's face. "Okaa-san just sent me. She wants you to come back home right away."

Concern knotted Itachi's stomach. "Alright, Otouto. We're going the fast way. Climb on."

Sasuke obediently scrambled onto Itachi's back, and the older Uchiha boy kicked off the earth, using _shunshin no jutsu _to dart quickly back toward the Uchiha Compound. He came to a sudden, perfect, silent stop on the back porch and let Sasuke down.

"I'll tell Okaa-san how well you did to come get me," he promised the six-year-old. "They taught you the hand-seal exercise at the Academy, yes? Why don't you go practice it, and later you can show me how well you can do it."

Buoyed by both promises, Sasuke shot one last adoring glance at Itachi and ran off toward his room. Itachi watched him go briefly, then turned and went into the house, where he sensed his mother anxiously pacing.

"Itachi," she said, turning to him immediately as he entered the room. Her face was ashen. She went to clutch his shoulders. He wrapped his hands around her elbows to help steady her. "I was just told, they just sent a messenger… Your father, the Clan… they've…"

She struggled visibly to find the words, to speak them. Itachi felt the cold hand of fear clench tighter around his insides. "Your father has sent an edict to all members of the Clan. It's a coup, Itachi! We're going to overthrow the Hokage, take Konoha for our own."

Itachi hissed his breath out from between his teeth. "When?"

Mikoto shook her head, her dark eyes creased and worried. "They didn't say exactly when. Only that we should all be ready when the time comes. It will be soon, though."

"You don't support it," Itachi noted, scanning her twisted expression. She shook her head again.

"It's wrong. Itachi, it would lead to _war_," she bit her lip. "I said I wasn't going to just sit by and watch my children be broken to the warrior mold, and I wasn't lying."

Itachi nodded. "Good."

"What do we do?" she whispered.

"The Hokage knows of the danger," Itachi said. Mikoto blinked.

"He…" comprehension rose in her eyes "Itachi, you've…"

"I serve _peace_," he told his mother firmly. "And the Hokage is my comrade in that army. I won't let my family or my village be destroyed by this."

Mikoto searched his eyes, and then nodded slowly, serenity beginning to leak back into her demeanor. "Alright. I trust you, Itachi."

"Thank you, Okaa-san," he said, and then he did something he hadn't done for years. He embraced his mother. She gave a tiny gasp, her surprise further underlining how long it had been since he'd allowed himself to be affectionate with his family, and then returned the hug. Itachi felt a few suspicious drops of liquid land on his neck, but when they drew back, his mother's eyes were dry.


	11. To Take Arms

_TH: This chapter's a little early, because I won't have time tomorrow to post it. I have to go do my civic duty and listen to grumpy lawyers ask twenty variations of the same question._

_Anyway. The alternate title for this chapter could be 'where-in the shit hits the fan', but Shakespeare is so much more eloquent. :P_

_'Onii-tama' is a really cute, little-kid way of saying 'onii-sama' or (respected) older brother.  
_

* * *

**Perchance to Dream

* * *

**

**Chapter Ten—To Take Arms

* * *

**

'Soon' was a relative term that meant nothing in the way of defined periods of time. This fact was agonizing as Itachi and the rest of the Uchiha Clan waited for their opening. The Hokage had been informed of the recent developments—Madara's visit and this—so everything was in place for the end. And an end it would be, one way or the other.

Despite his impatience and anxiety, Itachi tried to go about his business as usual. He trained with his ANBU comrades, took dinner with his family, helped Sasuke and Sakura with some small training exercises. The two children were actually working together, at least a little bit, now, and Itachi viewed that success with triumph. If he could only get to their third Teammate, Uzumaki Naruto, he might be able to build Team Seven into a cohesive, powerful Team… Provided, of course, that he persuaded the Hokage to maintain that grouping as the three Academy students' standings changed.

Provided, of course, that he—and they—were also still alive when this was over. Itachi was a realist. He understood that that was a possibility, too. Not to say that he didn't take measures to ensure that the possibility was minimized as much as he could manage.

He was surprised that Danzo hadn't tried anything yet; he would have expected the old man to at least send an 'I told you so' message, once the news reached him. But Root was quiet. Perhaps Itachi's threat had been substantial enough…? Itachi didn't bank on that, not even a little. A similar threat may have worked in the other-past, but that had been after Itachi had proven himself capable enough to decimate an entire clan, _his _entire Clan, and so Danzo was fully aware of how dangerous he really was. There was no such reputation here, only the reputation that, for an eleven-year-old, Itachi was incredibly skilled. Not quite intimidating enough.

Besides all that, Itachi wondered whether his actions the past several weeks had had any effect at all on the Clan. He had thought so. But when the time of reckoning came, who would stand with peace, with the Village, and who would stand with the Clan? With Madara?

It was disconcerting that Itachi could really only count on his mother. He rarely saw Shisui anymore, the older boy was constantly on a mission or working with his Genin. That might have be a good sign, though. If he spent that much time with the young ninja, perhaps he would not find himself able to turn his blade against them. But that was hardly assured. It could very well be that Shisui still put Clan before all else, and wouldn't hesitate to act in the coup d'etat.

_:For someone who knows the future, I hold an awful lot of uncertainty about what will happen,: _Itachi thought with bleak humor. But then, his being here changed what future he had known, not to mention whatever Madara had done had also altered things. The future Itachi had known wasn't going to happen, not in the same way.

He'd asked the Hokage not to post watchers on the Uchiha Compound. The Clan would be on high alert, and would notice a sudden contingent of ANBU surrounding them. And their response would not be friendly. The Hokage had agreed, but insisted on one condition. So now Itachi wore a carefully inked seal on his forearm, where it was covered and hidden by the wrappings many ninja wore around their ankles and wrists. It was impermeable to water, so didn't wash off when he bathed, and he wasn't in danger of ever being caught without it since it was on his skin. The idea was that when the Uchiha did make their move, Itachi would activate the seal, signaling Sarutobi and his men to start their counteraction.

Itachi sighed and rubbed his forehead, having gone over all of this in his head dozens of times the past few days. It seemed that any time he had a free moment, the thoughts rose up to beg attention yet again.

He lifted his cup and took a sip of tea.

But it wasn't as if—

An explosion rocked the ground, and Itachi was on his feet before the tremors had even faded. It seemed to have come from the direction of the Academy, and the Hokage Tower. _The Coup_. Itachi could see a cloud of dust and smoke rising from that direction; he realized by the depth of detail he could see that he'd activated his Sharingan automatically. It looked like he wouldn't need to activate the seal on his arm; the whole Village would know of the attack by the dark plume rising from the Tower.

He pulled on his chakra and _shunshin_'d toward the Uchiha Compound. The Clan would attack the heart of Konoha first, which was what Itachi had just seen, but neither Madara nor Fugaku would be there. They would be at the base of the Uchiha's operation, in the Clan Compound. And Itachi was most worried about them.

Itachi found his father in front of their house, with a group of his most trusted lieutenants. Fugaku looked up as Itachi approached, dismissing the others with a hand-wave. They flashed away to do his bidding. "Good, Itachi, you're here. I'm going to need you to—"

"Tou-san," Itachi interrupted with a voice that was more ice than anything else. "What have you done?"

Fugaku's eyebrows drew together as he frowned. "You were informed with the rest of the Clan. You know what this is."

"Fool," Itachi spat. "How weak-minded are you, to fall to this?"

"Itachi!" Fugaku barked, expression thunderous. "Now is not the time for your juvenile rebelliousness; now you are needed to stand for your Clan."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Otou-san," Itachi replied. Fugaku went very still.

"What are you saying?" he asked lowly. Itachi could see his hand creeping slowly toward the kunai pouch at his hip.

"Going to attack me, Tou-san?" Itachi asked quietly. "I hope you remember just what it is that you and the Clan made me into."

Fugaku hesitated, once, briefly. Then he sent a volley of kunai winging toward his eldest son. Itachi dodged them easily, catching the last and sending it back at his father, who deflected it off of another kunai in his fist. His arm was still raised from the movement when Itachi _shunshin_'d right in under Fugaku's nose. His eyes widened slightly, before Itachi's foot connected with his chin and sent him flying backward. Fugaku flipped and landed on his feet, eyes blazing furiously with the Sharingan.

"Give this up, Tou-san!"

Fugaku responded with an A-class _genjutsu_. Itachi shook it off like it was water; his father should have known better than to even try. Itachi moved back as Fugaku pressed the attack, coming at Itachi with _taijutsu _and projectile weapons.

"You are an Uchiha!" Fugaku shouted suddenly. "You are my son, my heir! Why are you betraying the Clan?"

He didn't let Itachi respond, but instead shot off a powerful _Katon_. Itachi deflected it with his own swiftly executed _Katon_. He was drawing breath to send a _Suiton _at his father when a voice broke into their fight.

"Onii-tama!"

Itachi's throat closed off. _Sasuke._ His head whipped around toward the boy, breaking off his handseals. By the way his little brother had reverted to such childish pronunciation, Sasuke was terrified. But seeing his father and brother fighting like this would do that. Itachi jumped away from Fugaku, and the fight stalled momentarily as they both stared at the little six-year-old standing in the doorway of their house. Then:

"Sasuke," Fugaku said. "Come here."

_:What?: _Itachi thought sharply. Was their father really calling his small son out to the middle of a battle? No… Was he going to use Sasuke against Itachi?

"Otouto," Itachi said, reaching a hand out for his little brother. Sasuke's eyes were large and liquid as he looked from his father to his brother. Itachi's whole body was tense. He knew how Sasuke wanted so badly to win their father's affection and regard. Would he choose Fugaku now in the hope of that? Or was the affection and attention of his older brother enough? "Please."

Sasuke wavered. Fugaku, sharply, said: "_Sasuke_."

The six-year-old flinched, then apparently made up his mind and ran to Itachi. The elder Uchiha boy felt a rush of relief and joy as he bent to sweep Sasuke up in his arms. The child's arms went around his neck, and they both looked toward Fugaku, whose face was closed off.

"So," he said blankly, "both of my sons are traitors."

Itachi took a step back, slinging Sasuke around to his back. "Otou-san…"

Fugaku used another _genjutsu_ against them, and Itachi felt Sasuke shiver as it passed over them. Itachi dispelled it before it could affect either of them. Sasuke pressed closer to his big brother, arms and legs locked around Itachi so that the six-year-old clung to Itachi's back like a monkey. This allowed Itachi to move with minimal obstruction, his arms free to defend against their father's attacks.

Itachi moved carefully to keep his own body between Sasuke and Fugaku's attacks. He deflected a kunai with an exploding tag attached to it, feeling anger rising in him at his father's actions. Itachi expected Fugaku to attack him. He wasn't mad over that; what he was beginning to see red over was the fact that Fugaku was attacking without any care for Sasuke, who was , when all was said and done, only six and not really a part of this.

"_Katon: Housenka no jutsu!_" A series of small fireballs drove Fugaku back and gave Itachi some room. He couldn't just put Sasuke down—Fugaku might target the younger boy then, and the possibility of Itachi not being able to defend his brother was too terrible to contemplate. With Sasuke on his back, Itachi could be sure to keep the younger boy safe. But he wouldn't be able to engage Fugaku in close-combat. _Taijutsu _was out. That left _genjutsu _and _ninjutsu_.

Itachi cast an S-class _genjutsu _on Fugaku, and as his father grappled with dispelling it, ringed the Uchiha Head with exploding tags. When Fugaku finally released the _genjutsu_, he was surrounded by a minefield of exploding tags, ready to go off at a touch, or at Itachi's sign.

"The Coup will not succeed, Tou-san. Call it off now and you might save some lives," Itachi called. Fugaku brought his hands together in a jutsu Itachi recognized as the _Kawarimi_. Itachi's eyes narrowed, and he brought his own hands into the seal needed for him to set of the tags. But he didn't want to kill his father, not really. He hesitated, and Fugaku executed his jutsu, trading places with a nearby kunai. Itachi left the tags where they were; setting them off now would do nothing, and he might be able to use them later.

"The Clan is stronger than this pathetic Village," Fugaku returned. "We will succeed! We have already gotten in the first strike, and the Village will be reeling from it. It will be simple enough to take over, especially with the superiority of the Sharingan!"

"The Hokage was ready, was _waiting_, for your attack," Itachi snapped. "I assure you ANBU will be engaging your attack squads, are engaging them as we speak. The Village was ready for your plan, Tou-san!"

"Not the whole of it," Fugaku said, darkly smug. Did he mean the fact that Madara was supporting the Clan? Did he think the Village unaware of that? Itachi opened his mouth to ask, but Fugaku was moving, forcing Itachi to execute some acrobatics to keep his father from touching either him or Sasuke. His little brother was quiet behind him, but Itachi could tell how distraught Sasuke was by the strength of his grip.

Itachi used a few shuriken to deflect his father's next barrage of mixed projectiles. A few of them exploded in the air as the shuriken struck them; exploding tags _henge_'d to look like senbon or shuriken or kunai. Itachi was doing well; he only had a few scrapes where he'd skidded on the ground or just barely dodged a weapon, and Sasuke was untouched so far. But Itachi's eleven-year-old body was tiring, especially with Sasuke on his back. The added weight did not make things easier, and the way Itachi moved had to be altered to account for Sasuke's presence. The sheer fact that he was purely on the defensive also made the situation more tiring. If he were just trying to kill Fugaku, he wouldn't have to expend so much effort. And no matter how much Itachi had trained in the last week, no matter how healthy his body was, it was still that of a child. He could not keep this up for long.

Fugaku _shunshin_'d in close, and Itachi retreated in the same vein, wind whistling in his ears as he leapt to the roof of the house. His father followed, and Itachi kicked off backward, keeping himself facing Fugaku. He landed on the other side of the exploding tag ring he'd made before, and set them off with a swift gesture. They threw up a cloud of dust and smoke, and with that screen between him and his father, formed two _bunshin_, complete with Sasukes, then he _henge_'d himself and the real Sasuke to look like a part of the wall nearby. When the smoke cleared, Fugaku faced two fake Itachis, which darted quickly to attack him in a pincher movement. They got Fugaku turned around, back to the real Itachi and Sasuke, as he tried to get rid of them before they hit him. Itachi was certain Fugaku realized they were _bunshin_, but even those can injure, and Fugaku couldn't just ignore them. As he dispelled them both with lightning-fast _Taijutsu_, the real Itachi wove a sleep _jutsu_ that would put Fugaku out for at least eight hours, if executed properly.

Having taken care of the _bunshin_, Fugaku threw a kunai at where the real Itachi lay hidden and flashed through a few handseals.

Itachi broke his _henge_, and ducked the kunai swiftly; it thudded into the wall over his and Sasuke's heads. Then he released the sleep _jutsu_, but Fugaku poofed out of existence as the _jutsu _passed over him, a bit of wood falling to the ground in his place. Damn. A _Kawarimi_. Itachi scanned quickly for Fugaku and found him cutting in from the left. Itachi leapt onto the wall behind him, and then away, high over Fugaku's head. The Uchiha Head wheeled, Sharingan eyes tracking Itachi's movement easily. Fugaku threw a kunai with an exploding tag to where Itachi would land, forcing his son to leap away immediately before the tag could explode. Fugaku tracked Itachi's trajectory and charged the new landing point, blade in hand. Itachi had just landed and was bracing himself to parry his father's attack when someone streaked through the battle.

"Not my sons, you bastard!"

Uchiha Mikoto lashed out, hand a blur in the air, smashing the kunai from her husband's hand and blasting him back several feet. She stood braced between Fugaku and her children, face set with the fury of a mother's protective spirit, eyes bright with the Sharingan she had not used since becoming the Clan Head's wife. She was wearing the uniform of a Leaf Jounin.

Fugaku looked pale, this time. "Mikoto? You, too?"

She stared him down coolly. "I won't let you destroy the children of this Clan."

His face went through a few emotions, before the mad light returned to his eyes and he flashed toward Mikoto, who proved that, even though she'd given up her ninja career to become the Lady Uchiha, she had not forgotten her training. Husband and wife traded blows, as father and son had done. Things looked perfectly under control until a group of Uchiha Coup-supporters appeared to aid their leader.

Itachi cursed mentally.

"Okaa-san!" Sasuke cried. Mikoto shouted to her watching children:

"Itachi take Sasuke and go somewhere safe!"

"Itachi!" Another voice called, and he turned to see Shisui standing in the middle of the street, shock on his face. His Genin were behind him, looking frightened. What were they doing _here_? Damn it, this was the worst place and time…

"Shisui!" Fugaku shouted. "Your cousin's a traitor to the Clan! Kill him!"

"Itachi?" Shisui asked, looking torn. Itachi fended off an attack from one of the Coup-supporters, and turned to his cousin just as one of the others went at the three non-Uchiha Genin.

"Sensei!" screamed one in abject terror. Shisui's eyes flickered, and then he flashed into motion, hurling himself at the oncoming Coup-supporter. The other Uchiha screamed in pain as Shisui pinned him to the wall with kunai piercing his palms, thighs, and upper-arms. A powerful jab in the forehead with the butt of another kunai left the Coup-supporter hanging limply.

"Damn you all!" Fugaku screamed, losing his composure. He punched Mikoto in the gut, making her stagger back before she regained her footing. "You traitors!"

Itachi flash-stepped over to Shisui, whose Sharingan dared any others to touch his Genin. He peeled Sasuke off his back and set the six-year-old before their cousin. "Shisui, take Sasuke and your Genin and go somewhere safe."

Shisui hesitated, and Itachi added: "We swore an oath as shinobi to protect Konoha and its citizens. _We _aren't the traitors here."

"Shisui-sensei, _please_," said one of his Genin tearfully, pulling on the Uchiha's sleeve. Shisui's eyes gentled.

"Alright," he said. He looked Itachi in the eye, and the Uchiha heir could see that Shisui knew and understood, and could not betray the trust his Genin had given him. "Alright. Come on, Sasuke-kun, we have to leave here."

"No!" Sasuke said, gripping Itachi's hand.

"_Go_, Sasuke," Itachi ordered, slipping from his little brother's grip. Shisui picked the six-year-old up, nodded to Itachi, and called to his students. They beat a hasty retreat, with Itachi covering them.

Mikoto was holding her own against Fugaku and one other Coup-supporter, and the others tested Itachi's strength. The Uchiha prodigy showed his once-Clansmen just why he'd warranted that particular title, working them over thoroughly. Not killing them, no. Instead, Itachi merely incapacitated them enough so that they would not be causing problems for anyone in a long time. He was just finishing the last when yet another group appeared on the scene.

"Itachi." Kakashi and the rest of his Team had arrived, all clad in their ANBU uniforms. Itachi caught the _ninjato _his Captain tossed him, and recognized it as his own. Aburame Soushiro tossed Itachi his ANBU armor. They must have grabbed it for him before coming here. Itachi appreciated it. He donned the armor quickly, and strapped the _ninjato _to his back. When he looked up, Kakashi was offering him a soldier pill. Gratefully, since he was younger and had less stamina than his adult opponents, Itachi took it and bit down on the bitter medicine.

"There are other pockets of fighting across the Village," Kakashi told Itachi as he chewed and swallowed the last of the pill. "But it seems the Coup is mostly contained. There are some other Uchiha fighting against the Clan."

The last Coup-supporter present, beside Fugaku, shrieked as Mikoto hamstrung him. Fugaku was screaming unintelligibly in fury by now. He hurled kunai as if he had an inexhaustible supply. Mikoto was hard-pressed to dodge and deflect them all. A few got through her guard and sliced crimson lines across her skin.

"Kaa-san!" Itachi called, and _shunshin_'d to her aid. He pulled his _ninjato _from its sheath and stepped between Fugaku and Mikoto.

"_Damn _your eyes!" Fugaku screamed, groping for more kunai. "Traitorous wretch!"

"I tried to _save _the Clan!" Itachi said. "But you were too closed-minded to see it!"

"We would be winning if you only obeyed me!" Fugaku slashed at Itachi with two kunai.

"You really are a fool if you couldn't see the impossibility of that from the start," said Madara from behind Fugaku, and then a sword exploded through the center of the Uchiha Clan Head's chest. Standing in front of his father, and in the sword's path, Itachi dodged too slow, and hissed as the blade opened a gash across his shoulder. Dimly, Itachi heard Mikoto scream as Fugaku mouthed wordlessly, blood running over his lips. His father slid slowly off the sword and fell, unmoving, to the ground.

Madara stepped forward over the body, wiping the blood off his blade unconcernedly. His Sharingan glinted at Itachi from behind the familiar orange mask.

"Hello, Itachi-kun."


	12. All My Sins Remembered

_TH: Woo! Next chapter! Woo!_

_Well, I don't have much to say except thanks for all the reviews, faves, alerts, and additions to C2s. I really appreciate 'em all!_

_On with the show!_

_**Edit 12/12/10: **some errors fixed.  
_

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**Perchance to Dream

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**

**Chapter Eleven—All My Sins Remembered

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**

"Madara," Itachi said through numb lips. His eyes flicked to his father, lying in a pool of his own blood. Fugaku was clearly dead, a gory hole in his chest from where Madara had run him through. Madara had returned the katana that'd done it to the sheath hanging at his side and was standing before Itachi now with his hands on his hips.

"You have certainly made a mess of things," Madara said, like he was chastening a child. He sighed. "If you had only listened to me…"

"You're a fool if you couldn't see the impossibility of that from the start," Itachi told him pointedly. By the way the masked head tilted, Madara was smiling, amused to have his own words thrown back at him.

"Itachi?" Kakashi asked from behind him. There was tension in the older shinobi's voice.

"Kakashi-sempai," Itachi replied, not taking his eyes off Madara, "please stay back. This is my fight. Okaa-san, you had best go find Shisui and Sasuke."

He heard his mother start to protest, and Kakashi murmuring quietly to her. Moments later, he felt his mother's presence disappear. Madara said, with biting innocence: "Such a dutiful son."

"Don't mock me," Itachi warned him sharply. Madara laughed, an almost inaudible chuckle. He gestured dismissively, a flick of his hand.

"What will you do about it, boy?" Itachi's eyes narrowed; let Madara think it was in anger, but most of the expression was born from shrewd calculation. It seemed apparent that Madara did not suspect Itachi was anything but an eleven-year-old child. Well, his arrogance would soon prove his downfall.

Despite Madara's overweening pride, and his underestimation of Itachi, the coming fight would not be easy. There was some basis for Madara's complacence—he was very powerful, and possessed the Eternal Mangekyo. His space-time _jutsu_ would be difficult to counter; it allowed him to dodge attacks that would be otherwise impossible to avoid.

"I will fight you to protect my family and my village," Itachi told Madara. This time, Madara's laugh was full-blown, a loud, sharp sound. He stopped in one abrupt instant, and sneered at Itachi, gesturing toward the slumped forms of the Coup-supporters Itachi had disabled earlier.

"Idiot boy. You couldn't even kill the lesser members of your Clan."

Then he attacked.

Itachi rolled out of the way of the _Doton jutsu_, and drew his _ninjato_. Madara was good at _kenjutsu_; he would definitely press that advantage with his katana. The katana had a longer reach, which put Itachi at a disadvantage unless he could close the distance. At close-quarters, older Uchiha's katana would be too slow and unwieldy. Madara cast a _genjutsu _over Itachi, who took a moment to dispel it; it was more powerful than his father's. In that moment, Madara darted forward, his katana streaking through the air at Itachi's unprotected throat.

Coming out of the _genjutsu _just in the nick of time, Itachi bent over backwards, bracing his weight on his hands and lashing out with his feet. One connected with the hilt of Madara's sword, knocking it from its intended trajectory. Madara dodged the other, which had been aimed at his chin. The momentum of the kicks flipped Itachi backwards onto his feet again, and he quickly took advantage of the fact that he had broken Madara's guard, slamming the heel of one hand into the older man's sternum and slashing with his _ninjato _at the wrist of Madara's sword-arm. The blade struck true, but as it passed through the limb it left no mark or damage. Itachi gritted his teeth. That damn trick of Madara's… using his Mangekyo abilities to displace himself just enough that any blow phased right through him without effect.

Itachi flash-stepped away from Madara before he could counter-attack, and spat out a swift _Katon jutsu_. Madara blocked it with a _Doton _that sent a wall of dirt punching up in front of him. Itachi's battle-sharpened senses felt Madara vanish from behind the wall, and the Uchiha heir quickly scanned the area for the older man. Madara had an Earth-affinity; it was likely he was underground right now. And indeed, Itachi felt the slightest tremor in the ground beneath his feet and immediately launched himself into the air just as Madara burst from the earth. Madara didn't miss a beat and leapt into the air also, the power of his jump causing him to overtake Itachi in midair.

The Uchiha prodigy parried the attack as best he could, but Madara was stronger and heavier, and in the air Itachi had nothing to brace himself against. The force of the ringing blows Itachi caught on his _ninjato _sent him sharply ground-wards. He tried to turn his body so he landed, like a cat, on his feet, but he was moving too fast and the ground was too close, for him to fully twist around. He hit the ground with a heavy thud, raising a cloud of dust. He rolled quickly to the side, grimacing, and Madara's katana struck the ground where he'd just been seconds before. Itachi scrambled to his feet, noticing as he did so that another group of Uchiha Coup-supporters were just arriving, perhaps called by the spectacle of the fight. They saw Fugaku's body and shouted in anger.

"Fugaku-sama!" They looked around, saw Kakashi, Soushiro, and Yousuke, and apparently decided that the three ANBU were responsible for their leader's fall. "You scum!"

Itachi's attention was diverted from the ensuing battle between ANBU and Coup-supporter by his own battle against Madara. He formed a _bunshin _and sent it at Madara as the real him charged behind. From the smirk on Madara's face, the tactic was juvenile and entirely predictable. The masked Uchiha stood still as the two Itachis ran at him, and when the first reached him and leapt into the air to deliver a downward slash with his _ninjato_, Madara lazily lifted his katana and cut him in two. The _bunshin _exploded, but instead of dispersing into smoke, its body dissolved into ink, and splattered Madara's mask and hair with viscous black liquid. Madara hissed and took a couple steps back, whipping his sword through the air in front of him in an attempt to keep the real Itachi back as he cleared the eyehole of his mask of ink.

The action took a mere second, but that was enough time to let Itachi score a line across Madara's ribs. The older Uchiha flinched away from Itachi's _ninjato _as soon as he felt it part the flesh of his side, so the wound wasn't as deep as Itachi would have wanted, but it still drew blood.

Proof that Madara was not invincible. The sight of the crimson on the tip of his blade was strangely relieving to Itachi. He might loathe violence and war, but he believed with all of his being that Madara's death at his hands would be justified. And the blood he'd just spilled was proof that that death was not idle fantasy.

Itachi gave the sword a flick, sending a bright droplet of blood splattering, and sank into a _kenjutsu _stance with the flat of the blade braced on his upraised arm. A bead of reflected sunlight rolled down the steel length.

Madara stared at him, one hand pressed to the wound on his side. He lifted the hand away, and looked at the blood on his fingers. Then he laughed a little. Itachi's eyes narrowed.

"I had almost forgotten…" Madara grinned at Itachi—even with the mask, the expression was somehow obvious—and waved his bloody fingers. "I had almost forgotten what it was to feel pain."

He straightened, eye glinting behind the mask. "But you'll have to try a lot harder than that, Itachi-kun."

There was no response that would not be foolish boasting or clichéd sentiment, so Itachi merely watched Madara for warnings of his next attack. The Uchiha heir's own wounds were throbbing in time with his heartbeat, and he could feel the wetness of new blood and the sticky weight of the old on his shoulder. He blinked…

And just like that, they were back in motion, struggling for their lives, struggling to end each other's. Itachi cast a triple-layer _genjutsu_ on Madara, threw three kunai with exploding tags to his feet, and _henge_'d them to look like normal ground. Just as soon as he'd finished with that, Madara stripped the last of the _genjutsu _away, and stepped forward. He activated one of the tags with his movement, and that one explosion set off the other two as well, throwing up three small fireballs in a half-circle around Madara. Itachi _shunshin_'d to the roof of the Uchiha Main House, avoiding the attack that came scything at him from behind. Madara had used his Mangekyo's ability to teleport away from the explosions and to Itachi's back.

Itachi flipped nimbly off the roof, hands flashing through some handseals as the mid-air somersault turned him and his body hid his hands from Madara. When Itachi hit the ground, he pushed off with the left foot, veering to the right and out of Madara's immediate target area. As he moved, he sucked in a great gulp of air and blew out a _Goukakyuu no jutsu_. The massive fireball roared across the area between Itachi and Madara, scorching the nearby buildings.

Madara came through the flames like a fire demon, katana thrusting out in front of him. Itachi threw himself backwards, trying to evade…

…And Madara used his teleportation ability to flash forward, just one step more…

Itachi gave a grunt of pain as Madara's katana sank two inches into his chest, just between the left shoulder joint and his collarbone. The younger Uchiha stumbled backward, and the sword came free with a wet sound, trailing blood. Itachi wavered, going down on one knee, his hand pressing on the wound. Blood pulsed over his fingers, sticking his shirt to his skin wetly.

Madara flicked the blood off his sword, and laughed. "Do you feel it, too, Itachi-kun? The pain? Do you know it?"

Itachi panted lightly, regaining his control over his body as his animal survival instincts clamored. This was getting tense; the injury was a bad one, though not immediately life-threatening. But Itachi needed to end this, soon.

_:Now,: _he thought. _:Now is the time to reveal my hand..:_

It was ironic, the metaphor, because Uchiha Itachi did not gamble. He planned.

And now it was time to move to the next step. He'd kept his Mangekyo hidden from Madara, biding his time to reveal it. Madara would not expect it, did not think the Itachi of this time had it. It might catch him by surprise.

Itachi kept his head bowed, eyes hidden by his bangs. Mangekyo activated, he cast his best _genjutsu_, backing it with the power of his advanced _doujutsu_. Then, coming to his feet, he looked up at Madara. The older Uchiha's posture was smug with the anticipation of victory. The fool really believed Itachi finished. Itachi's eyes narrowed, and he charged, heedless of the wound in his shoulder.

The ringing sound of the clash of their blades echoed off the walls around them. Itachi's eyes were sharp, his reflexes fast. He traded blows with Madara, fully aware that the older Uchiha was just playing with him. Madara let Itachi match him for a few exchanges, and then used his teleportation trick again. Itachi _shunshin_'d away quickly, and managed to avoid the one attack, but Madara pressed forward again, and Itachi could not counter a second teleportation fast enough.

Madara's sword punched through Itachi's chest, grating against ribs. The sword's tip emerged from Itachi's back, and blood splattered the ground in thick droplets. Itachi fell, sliding off the sword as he went down.

And as he fell, his body dissolved into a murder of crows, which wheeled and scolded around Madara, who stood for a moment in disbelief. Then, slowly, he turned around to look at Itachi.

The Uchiha prodigy stood behind Madara, his arms crossed, his face in repose, with chin tilted down and eyes closed. Madara said, tone thick with fury at having been tricked: "_Kai_."

The _genjutsu _Itachi had crafted fell. Slowly, Itachi opened his eyes and lifted his face to catch Madara's lone eye with his. Itachi saw Madara's eye begin to widen, as the twenty-two-turned-eleven-year-old said calmly: "_Tsukuyomi_."

The day turned red with Itachi's _jutsu_, buildings vanishing and clouds skating across the crimson sky as the moon rose, large and full, to hang over the world of red and black and white. Madara was fixed to a crucifix in the midst of the vast, flat land, Itachi standing at the base. The older Uchiha stared at Itachi without the interference of _genjutsu_, saw the bladed wheel in Itachi's eyes, and snarled: "Mangekyo! How did you get that?"

Itachi lifted his hand, a black-bladed katana now gripped in it, and stabbed Madara with surgical precision though the abdomen, spearing his pancreas. Madara choked on his snarl. In this place, Itachi was in control. Madara could not use his own Mangekyo techniques here, though if he rallied his will and strength he might be able to break free of the _Tsukuyomi_. But for now, he was trapped.

"I think you miscalculated, Madara," Itachi said. "Or else why would I be here?"

It took Madara a moment to connect the situation to the implication of Itachi's words, and then he pulled sharply on his restraints and growled in realization: "_You_! You weren't dead!"

Itachi skewered Madara's arms with two black katana through the fleshy parts of his forearms. "It would seem that way. But why would that matter?"

Madara probably would have spat at Itachi, had his face not been obscured by the mask, if his tone was any indication. "Couldn't figure it out, Uchiha prodigy?"

Itachi's eyes narrowed, but he voiced one of his theories. "You needed a locus here, so you could chose both the place _and _the time your _jutsu _carried you. You specified the time. I think you used my dying self to help with the place. There was a connection between my living eleven-year-old self and my dying-twenty-two-year-old self. You sent us to a time where my younger self existed, and that connection pulled my dying self and you to this place. It acted as a locus. _Why _you did the _jutsu _is obvious. Instead of killing the Uchiha, this time you wanted them for your own little Sharingan army."

Madara said nothing. Itachi took that as confirmation, or at least a general one. Itachi stabbed Madara with a blade through each of the 361 nodes along his chakra pathway. Just hitting a fraction of those would cause incredible pain; stabbing all probably would have killed anyone other than Madara. Withdrawing the swords, Itachi said coolly: "However, I suppose the exact science behind what happened is not important. I am here, and that is incontestable."

Itachi put a blade through Madara's throat, and left it there, pinning Madara to the crucifix like a bug on a card. He stepped back and said: "I suppose I should thank you, for giving me this second chance."

Madara gurgled, trying to curse at him. His Sharingan blazed with incandescent fury through the mask's eyehole. Itachi felt Madara's chakra and strength prying at the _Tsukuyomi_. Itachi let him break free, and in between one breath and the next, they were back in the real world.

"_Amaterasu_," Itachi said immediately, and black flames roared to life on Madara's chest and head. Madara blinked out, countering _Amaterasu_'s eternal-flames with the only _jutsu _able to stop their burning—his teleportation. Madara reappeared a foot away, and slumped visibly in exhaustion and pain. Itachi's attacks in _Tsukuyomi _might have been illusory, but Madara's body had believed them to be entirely real, and was responding with pain and distress signals. And with the level and scope of the attacks, this meant that Madara was pretty well overwhelmed. He would be practically blind with the pain, and his mind and body would be shutting down.

But Madara didn't let that stop him, though it did slow him as he moved to attack first. Madara leapt toward Itachi, obviously hoping to catch the younger Uchiha with his defense lowered. But Itachi was no green Genin, and he had resources at his disposal that many lacked.

_Susanoo _erupted around Itachi, sending Madara's katana spinning away through the air. Madara was knocked back, and he had to hurry his feet under him to keep upright. Itachi's advantage, and he pressed it.

Itachi _shunshin_'d in, and _Susanoo _hit Madara like a battering ram, slamming the older Uchiha into the wall behind him. As Madara's head whipped back and forth from the backlash, Itachi dropped _Susanoo_, and drew his _ninjato_. With the same smooth drawing motion, he swept the blade across Madara's neck.

Madara's head traced a black and orange arc through the air, before thudding to the ground in a spray of blood. The orange mask cracked into pieces upon impact. Madara's body stayed standing for a long moment before sliding down the wall and crumpling on the bloody ground.

Itachi stood for half a breath before dropping his _ninjato_ and staggering drunkenly. He deactivated his Sharingan, noticed that his fight with Madara had carried him across half the Uchiha Compound, and then collapsed.

He had enough time to wonder if anyone would find him before he bled to death from his wounds, and then he was unconscious.


	13. What Dreams May Come

_TH: Hello all. Welcome to the **last chapter**. Yep, this is the end. However, I AM in the planning and initial writing stages of a **sequel**, so... yeah. Watch out for it. Naruto's in it, for all of you who were slavering at the mouth for him to be in this fic. :P_

_I'd like to extend a huge thank you to all of you readers. I really appreciate the response I've had to this fic- the biggest I've had! It's my most reviewed fic so far, and the most faved, alerted, and archived. And that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. So thanks. And please enjoy the end to "Perchance to Dream" and remember to keep an eye out for the sequel!  
_

**EDIT-  
**_I had a review, anonymous otherwise I would have addressed it via pm, that was upset that I only had 8 survivors of the Uchiha Clan. First of all, there were 12; it was only 8 Konoha-loyal Uchiha that survived (though I will admit that the other 4 would be eventually executed for treason). Second, I never said that only 8 of the clan were Konoha-loyal, I only said that 8 survived the Coup. Considering there was a lot of fighting, and some of it surprise attacks, some of both Konoha-loyal and Coup-supporter Uchiha would have died in it. Also, the reviewer mentioned that the number of survivors would have been increased by how many children there were in the Clan. No. You are thinking like a modern Westerner. The first thing you need to understand about the Uchiha is that they are a very traditional-seeming clan, traditional in the sense of traditional Japanese. Almost like a samurai family, even though in the story they are ninja. And in traditional samurai families, if there is a situation in which the parents/adults would commit seppuku, they would 'help' the children do so as well. Family suicides. They did happen. You can even look to as recently as WWII to see examples: Fearing the Allied Forces' occupation (there was some truly horrible fear-mongering propaganda about it), when it became obvious that the Allies were taking over an island, there were civilians as well as soldiers that committed seppuku rather than suffer the shame and horror of being under their enemy's rule. Look up Suicide Cliff. So. There you have it, my rational as to why I had so few Uchiha survive.  
_

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**Perchance to Dream**

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**Chapter Twelve—What Dreams May Come**

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Itachi woke to the feeling of small fingers patting his bangs against the side of his head. With some difficulty, he opened his eyes wide enough to see Sasuke kneeling beside him. Over the boy's shoulders he could see the familiar setting of a hospital room, and their mother asleep in one of the chairs provided for guests. Sasuke's hand withdrew as the boy noticed his brother was awake. Itachi met Sasuke's gaze, and saw the six-year-old's eyes fill with tears.

"Onii-tama!" Sasuke sniffled, and buried his face against Itachi's blanket-covered chest. Itachi automatically lifted his hand—only one seemed to want to move—and placed it lightly on Sasuke's spiky hair.

"Sasuke…" And then it hit him that he was _alive, _and Sasuke was alive, and Madara was _dead_, and the Coup had failed. And Itachi pressed Sasuke to him gently with great emotion. "It will be alright, Otouto."

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It didn't take long after Itachi woke for him to be released from the hospital. He'd been unconscious for four days, and his chest and arm where he'd been injured were almost healed. His left arm was in a cast and sling to immobilize the shoulder, so the chest wound could heal up the rest of the way without trouble.

It didn't take much longer after that for the Hokage to call him to his office. And so Itachi stood in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen, Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, with bandages swathing his left side, sorrow, relief, and determination etching his young face and the symbol of Konoha etching his _hitai-ate_.

Sarutobi took a moment to silently inspect Itachi's appearance. Then, fingers steepled, face genuine, he said: "How are you feeling, Itachi-kun?"

Itachi inclined his head to the Hokage. "I am not in pain anymore. Other than that… I am relieved, and grieved."

Sarutobi nodded. Out of the fifty-nine members of the Uchiha Clan, only twelve had survived the coup attempt, and only eight of those had fought against the coup. The other four had been Coup-supporters, and were now tenants of the Torture and Interrogation Force's jail. There had been more Uchiha who had survived the fighting, but before Konoha could secure them as prisoners, they had committed _seppuku_. Itachi, who had never really wanted his Clan to die, was right to be grieved.

But since the threat of Madara had been neutralized, and there were eight living Uchiha instead of the three (sort of) in his other-past, Itachi was also right to be relieved.

"Are you taking your father's place as Clan Head?" the Hokage asked. Itachi shook his head.

"No, my mother will be leading the Clan in my stead. We determined that the survivors would be more inclined to follow her than they would be to follow me." Itachi's lips twisted into a small, wry smile. "Even though they opposed the coup once it came down to it, I was actively giving information on the situation to the Hokage. They might have also fought the Clan, but I took it a step further, and they are very aware of that."

"A fine line between opposing the Clan and being a traitor, hm?" Sarutobi asked shrewdly.

"Yes. They don't hate me, because in the end they _were_ on the same side as I, but there was that one instant when they were on the wire. They could have just as easily picked the other side, and had they done that, my actions would have been a betrayal of them, too. And they know that."

The Hokage nodded, thoughtfully. "I see… Well, the bitterness will fade in time. Other than that, how has the Clan been handling this?"

This wasn't Sarutobi asking after the Clan's health; this was the Hokage asking for a situation report. Itachi straightened, responding to the change of tone.

In truth, the survivors were in a bit of a crisis. Even if they didn't exactly regret choosing to fight against the rest of the Clan, they still felt guilty at betraying their family. Some of them had even directly betrayed family, as Itachi had done, fighting his father. It wasn't something that most people could do without some mental or emotional upheaval. Especially those who were members of a Clan as demanding of obedience and loyalty as the Uchiha. It was a part of the Uchiha upbringing that children were taught to live and die for the Clan, first and foremost. Going against those teachings was difficult. Itachi was fortunate that he had always been strong of will and clear of mind, enough so that he had never bought in on the lessons, had never been as loyal as the Clan would have wanted. Others, such as Shisui, had been more susceptible to that particular form of brainwashing.

They suffered now, wondering if they had done the right thing, in agony over might-have-beens. Shisui, Itachi knew, was having trouble reconciling his actions, especially since his parents had died in the coup attempt. He was _Shunshin no Shisui_, one of the strongest of the Uchiha, and he had chosen his three non-Clan Genin over his blood family. Was there shame in him for that? Shisui was fortunate that his Genin did not withdraw from him after the chaos of the coup attempt; instead, they clung like burrs to him, their respect and awe of him ratcheting up into near hero-worship. It helped ground him, a bit. Their constant presence by him reminded him of why he'd made his choice, and their innocent adoration made him feel his actions more validated. Not all the Uchiha survivors had that luxury.

It was about half and half, those ninja who trusted the survivors and those who did not. Among the civilians of Konoha it was the same. But to be able to remain steadfast in their decision to stand by their Village, the Uchiha survivors would need the support and acceptance of the people of Konoha. To ostracize them now would crumble the reasons they had made that choice in the first place, and cultivate the danger of the survivors turning traitor themselves. Who would continue to support a Village that doubted them, that didn't acknowledge what they'd sacrificed, that shunned them?

Itachi relayed all this to the Hokage, who nodded understanding. Sarutobi tugged lightly at his beard thoughtfully, smoke curling from the pipe clenched between his lips.

"I'll assign them to Teams that will support them," the Sandaime said. "And perhaps I will personally see that they feel their actions appreciated."

By that, Itachi supposed the Hokage meant he would visit and thank the Uchiha survivors himself. Receiving personal acknowledgement from the Hokage would help shore them up against their doubts. Itachi gave a nod to the wisdom of the plan.

Sarutobi sighed, taking his pipe from his mouth. He looked up at Itachi from beneath his eyebrows. "Is this over?"

Itachi considered. The way he had come to this world… Twenty-two-year-old body near death, Itachi's spirit had gone back to its eleven-year-old body. Would the same sort of thing happen to Madara? Itachi had killed his older body, but did that just mean his spirit had gone to whatever Madara had existed in this time?

"I'm not sure," Itachi said honestly. "There is the Madara that exists here. He could still pose a threat."

"Hm," the Sandaime said.

"And there are still the _nukenin _who would form the Akatsuki. Including…" Itachi hesitated a bare moment, knowing the topic was a rather sensitive one for the Hokage. "Including Orochimaru."

Sure enough, some tension sharpened the line of the Hokage's shoulders. Orochimaru… his wayward student. Sarutobi nodded, sudden and sorrowful decisiveness making his face age about ten years. "Yes. It is time I dealt with that failing."

Itachi respectfully averted his face as the Hokage got a grip on his emotions. Finally, the Hokage cleared his throat. "And where do you go from here, Itachi-kun?"

Itachi took a breath. He could withdraw; he'd done what he'd set out to do. The Uchiha Clan was not wiped out; the Coup had failed. He'd killed Madara. He'd never really wished to be a shinobi, to kill. And here was his opening to become otherwise, to live in peace.

Except it would be a lie. There were still threats to Konoha, threats Itachi could help with. They still needed his strength. His use of the Mangekyo during the coup attempt had not completely ruined his eyesight; in fact, his vision was only slightly blurred at the edges. It was nowhere near as bad as in the other-past, which was only reasonable, since he had used it far less in this single fight than he had in all the years he'd been a _nukenin_. He could still fight at his full ability. And he would, until Konoha was safe, or he was dead.

Itachi knelt in front of the Hokage's desk, head bowed. "I am a shinobi of Konoha, and your weapon, Hokage-sama."

"Rise," Sarutobi said quickly, having never been one for his subordinates bowing and scraping. Itachi obeyed, and met the Hokage's eyes. Sarutobi gave him a wry look. "So you will continue on as a warrior. Although I suppose your knowledge of what will come has been somewhat altered with the occurrences that have recently taken place."

"Everything has changed," Itachi agreed. "It is likely that my knowledge has been made essentially obsolete. I am, from now on, just another Leaf-nin in your ranks."

Sarutobi smiled. "I hardly think you could ever be 'just another' anything, Uchiha Itachi-kun."

* * *

The Uchiha survivors had moved out of the Clan Compound after the coup attempt. None of them particularly wished to face those memories every day. So they moved, all eight of them. It wasn't exactly a trial to do so, nor to find themselves lodging.

Mikoto, Sasuke, and Itachi had moved into a small house in the shade of the Mountain. It was smaller than their house in the Compound, but comfortable. As Itachi walked in the door, he was met by Sasuke, who seized Itachi's leg tightly, face pressed against his side.

"What's the matter, Otouto?"

Sasuke lifted a grave face to meet Itachi's gaze and he divulged quietly: "Okaa-san is sad."

Itachi let out a breath, eyebrows coming together as he looked up into the house. "Do you know where she is right now, Sasuke?"

The boy nodded. "She's in her bedroom."

Itachi poked Sasuke's forehead, earning himself an indignant huff, and went down the hall to the bedrooms. He paused at the closed door of his mother's room, and knocked softly. After a moment, his mother opened the door. She looked collected, but Itachi could see the subtle redness under her eyes that indicated she'd been weeping recently.

"Okaa-san," he said quietly. "You're upset."

She tried to hide it for a heartbeat longer, then the rigidity of her face eased and the sorrow came through. "I'm sorry. But I…"

Itachi shook his head. "Grieving for the dead is not something anyone needs to apologize for."

Mikoto closed her eyes and gave a sigh that shuddered only a little. "I know you and your father never really got along, but… He was not always so unyielding."

"You were his wife. You knew him before he became Clan Head, before he had sons who the Clan watched sharply. I imagine the man you knew was different than the one Sasuke and I knew. Time and power can change anyone," Itachi said. He paused. "I never wished him dead. I'm sorry I couldn't stop it."

Mikoto shook her head, a few tears squeezing through her composure and clinging to her eyelashes. "It wasn't your fault, Itachi-kun. Fugaku was the architect of his own death, and the Clan was only too eager to help him along. But… But there are so few of us! We've lost all of… Were there really so few honest Uchiha?"

The tears started falling, as much as in shame and frustration as in sorrow. Her hand went to the doorjamb to brace herself.

There was really nothing for Itachi to say to that. It was true. The grand majority of the Clan had turned against Konoha, against their home and comrades. They'd broken the old Senju-Uchiha alliance that had been made when the Hidden Village was founded, for nothing more than the desire for more power. Yes, by all appearances there had only been eight honest Uchiha among the fifty-nine living Clanmembers.

"Sasuke," Itachi said softly. There was a small noise from the corner of the hallway, and then his little brother stepped guiltily into sight. He'd been eavesdropping the whole time; Itachi had known but hadn't cared. He motioned Sasuke closer and the boy crept down the hall, his eyes on their mother, his brow furrowed worriedly.

"Okaa-san," Sasuke said once he'd gotten close. He patted their mother's leg. Mikoto went to her knees to wrap her arms around her youngest. Sasuke, usually adverse to any action he deemed as childish or un-ninja-like, hugged her back tightly. She looked up over his should to Itachi and gave a small watery smile.

"Thank you, both of you."

Itachi smiled slightly back. Their problems were far from over, true, but already this life was looking brighter than the one he'd already lived. He had his mother and brother, his greatest friend, and his Village. And he would do his damnedest to keep it all.

* * *

******End**

* * *

_One more time with a big thank you to you, my dear readers!_


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